Tours start in an exhibit area where displays include MGM movie stills (Turner owns a portion of the MGM/RKO film library); an exhibit on TBS sports (Turner Broadcasting System owns the Atlanta Hawks and the Atlanta Braves, after all); an exhibit on the Goodwill Games; a 12-monitor video wall that continuously airs all TBS networks; a display on the 24-hour Cartoon Network; and items involved in CNN's much-lauded coverage of the Gulf War. A new theater shows a dramatic high-tech video on the history of Turner Broadcasting and CNN.

Next you'll enter a special effects studio and get a glimpse of the technology that goes into the production of global news. Here you'll see the magic of a high-tech Chroma Key system (it's what's used to broadcast that big map behind the weather folks), see how on-air graphics are made, and learn the secrets of the TelePrompTer.

On another level, visitors get a bird's-eye view of the main CNN newsroom from a glass-walled observation station. You'll see the hustle and bustle of the domestic desk and writers composing news scripts. If a live broadcast is in progress--and the chances are good that one will be--you can see CNN newscasters at work. Tour guides are knowledgeable and can answer virtually any question.

The longer, more extensive VIP tour allows visitors to actually step out on the main CNN newsroom floor and explore production areas not normally accessible to the public. You can even have a snack at the CNN commissary and rub elbows with the journalists.

After your visit, stop by the Turner Store, which carries network-logo clothing and gift items, along with MGM movie memorabilia. For sports fans, there's the Braves Clubhouse store, featuring anything you can imagine sporting the Atlanta Braves logo. There are several restaurants and fast-food outlets in the atrium of the CNN Center, as well as a few shops and a movie theater. The big attraction, though, is CNN.