Just after 10:30 a.m., just as prosecutors began their opening statements in Donald J. Trump's Manhattan criminal trial, CNN chief legal correspondent Paula Reid gave a live update.
“I could see that Mr. Trump was sitting deep in his chair and not even looking at the prosecutors while he was speaking,” Reid said.
If viewers can see Trump, it could be a fascinating visual.
Instead, CNN viewers saw Ms. Reed sitting with prime-time anchors Anderson Cooper and Caitlan Collins on a somewhat rugged balcony outside the courthouse. Together, they set out to take on the difficult task of how to cover a historic trial where the network's cameras were not allowed.
Mr. Trump's trial began in earnest on Monday, a high-profile event in which former presidents are on trial in criminal cases, and television and news media personnel were not allowed to attend, as television cameras are prohibited. need to explore creative approaches to telling the truth. Reporting of the moment.
Over the next few weeks, networks will have to report key developments from the trial with one hand tied behind their backs. During Monday's broadcast, cable network anchors and correspondents often sounded as if they were on the radio, occasionally interjecting play-by-play. Live footage is prohibited, but reporters and producers are inside the courtroom to provide real-time updates to on-air anchors and the public.
Throughout the morning, CNN tried to satisfy interest with rolling on-screen graphics on the left side of the screen and constant updates from inside the courtroom. In many cases, it was a shortened version of what the network was updating on its website. Shortly after the court session began, CNN's Jake Tapper told viewers that Trump apparently had no reaction to the judge's ruling, then turned to an on-screen graphic saying the same thing. He said he started poking her with his fingers.
“You can see it on the left side of the screen,” he said.
Like CNN, MSNBC had full coverage with rolling updates on its screens, anchors and contributors as the incident unfolded a few miles south of the Rockefeller Plaza 30 studio where it was broadcasting. panel discussed the incident. The network also displayed an on-screen image of Rachel Maddow, MSNBC's highest-rated anchor, reminding viewers to tune in for “special coverage” at 8 p.m.
Fox News took a different path. Rather than providing exhaustive coverage, Fox's anchors bounced in and out of coverage of the trial, while also devoting ample time to other coverage, including pro-Palestinian protests on the campuses of Columbia and Yale universities.
When Fox actually focused on the trial, it was a markedly different approach. In the early hours of 10 a.m., Fox carried nearly three full minutes of Mr. Trump's remarks just outside the courtroom — where he was making particularly harsh complaints about the trial.
Broadcast networks were more selective than the major cable stations. NBC interrupted its regularly scheduled programming and went into special coverage mode twice, once at around 9 a.m. just before the day's trial began, and again at 12:30 p.m. after the day's trial ended. .
Similarly, CBS ran a special report around 9:30 a.m., attempting to provide a big-picture perspective given the inability to show live moments from the courtroom.
“This is not just a former president's case,” said John Dickerson, the network's chief political analyst. “This is a challenge to whether the American legal system is healthy and can withstand the hurricanes that are happening outside.”