News Insiders Pick 2024’s Most Historic Moments: ‘The Year of Trump’

What I will remember most of all about this consequential stretch is that my family, who rarely gets to see me in action, was there for both the start and end of the span. By chance, my wife was with me in New York the night of the Biden-Trump debate and got to watch alongside the CBS News team from our Times Square studios, giving her a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of how we do our work on and off-camera. And on July 21, I was with my daughters in a dark movie theater—trying to sneak in some valuable “papa” time at the 1:40 p.m. showing of Despicable Me 4—when Biden’s X post announcing his exit stunned us all. Needless to say, I didn’t see the end of the movie, but my young girls witnessed in real time what it takes to do my work.

My honorable mention for big news moments would be the collapse of Syria and how it started to reshape geopolitics. While it’s still quite recent, I believe the end of the Bashar al-Assad regime is a stark reminder of how conflicts separated by thousands of miles are becoming more interconnected.

Scott Warren, general manager, president of CBS Bay Area (KPIX-TV)

2. This year, I was proudest of our news organization when we took bold steps telling our local and national weather stories in real-time, 3D, immersive AR/VR. At CBS Bay Area we are producing the entire news in all AR/VR, a first for any local station.

Dan Colarusso, senior vice president of business news at CNBC

1. When historians look back on 2024, they will remember it as a year that defied expectations and the lessons of history. The market and economy roared while a nation voted out the administration that presided over it. The rise of the Artificial Intelligence economy was a sign that promise outstrips fear.

2. This year, I was proudest of our news organization when we were able to pivot to cover the AI revolution and market rally by embracing both the possible and the skepticism, and when we covered Election Night with a total commitment to what makes CNBC valuable to its core audience. We had a plan and maintained the drama of the vote without wavering from it.

David Chalian, senior vice president, Washington bureau chief and political director at CNN

1. The historic CNN presidential debate in June between President Biden and President Trump was certainly a defining moment of the year and a defining moment in Joe Biden’s 52-year career in national politics. It was the spark that lit the fuse that ended with an unprecedented change at the top of the Democratic ticket a mere 107 days prior to Election Day.