Getting To Know The Broadcast Center

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We're all about transparency here at Public Eye. So…here's a picture of my phone.

OK, let me back up. One of the things that people at CBS News talk about quite a bit is the fact that the building in which we work, the Broadcast Center, is not exactly Versailles. It's actually a converted milk processing plant, which Sheffield Farms Company sold in 1952; CBS moved in in 1964. The company spent $14.5 million dollars to create what was, at the time, "the largest 'self-contained' radio and television production center in the United States and the most modern broadcasting plant of its kind in the world," as the New York Tribune put it in 1961.

In the early 1980s, CBS added 176,400 square feet to the 500,000 square foot building as part of a $100 million update. But the legacy of Sheffield Farms could not be erased: In May 2001, a crew from "48 Hours" went into the dank basement of the Broadcast Center in search of a location for a shoot. They found, among other things, grain chutes and a cow hoof.

Oh, and as for the picture of the phone? A big joke around here is that our phones operate on state-of-the-art 1970s technology. Just thought I'd provide visual proof.

In any event, here's a brief pictorial tour through CBS News and CBSNews.com. This by no means shows all that goes on here; there are no shots of CBS radio, the soaps upstairs, or any of the many, many other broadcast operations in the building. For that, you'll have to wait for future installments of this completely random, unfocused, and ad-hoc feature. We can get away with that, right? Blogging, it seems, does have its benefits.

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First, the awning! Since Feb. 1984, this has been the main entry to the Broadcast Center. Sometimes a man stands out front with a sandwich board featuring a picture of a fetus, handing out anti-abortion literature. (He wasn't there yesterday, when I took these pictures.)

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The lobby. I have nothing to add. It's a lobby.

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The CBS Digital Media newsroom, where I work. The big issue here is that there's no light; it's a giant, hangar-like room with windows on only one side, and a track lighting system that leaves much to be desired. That's the view from my desk. Note that I do not have the Drudge Report on my screen!

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A couple more pics of the .com newsroom. Note the many oh-so-necessary desk lamps in this one.

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This one is of the area where the video producers work. That's the top half of video guru Rome Neal's head in the bottom left corner.

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Now over to the "Evening News." Here's a picture of the newsroom, which is right behind the anchor desk. I took this picture from the side of the room, which is why you can't see the desk.

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This is the "fishbowl," the room where many decisions are made as to coverage. It's an intimidating room. Which is perhaps why this picture isn't all that great – I let my vague unease at the weird looks I was getting for wielding a camera get the best of me and didn't take the shot from too good of a spot.

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This is the hallway where the offices for the "Evening News" higher-ups are located. Fancy, huh? Schieffer's digs are the first on the right.

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Finally, here's a picture of a picture of the building as it looked in 1952, when it was still Sheffield Farms.

That concludes this installment of "Getting To Know The Broadcast Center." Will there be another? Honestly, I have no idea – this thing might end up going the way of "Co-Ed Fever," "Emily's Reasons Why Not," and "Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos."

Brian Montopoli

Brian Montopoli is the national reporter and political analyst for CBSNews.com.

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