Unlike what appears to be half the country, I am not watching the inauguration from the National Mall -- I'm in the control room at ABC's Washington bureau, which, for a journalism dork like me, is almost as cool. I've been here since 5 a.m., running errands for the producers, answering the phone and reading the AP wire in case breaking news comes through.
In its own way, it's pretty exciting being in a major newsroom today -- there are at least 30 TV screens here with different news feeds from around the city, and every time something new happens or Obama comes onscreen, everyone jumps into action. The phones have been ringing constantly since I got here, and the crew in the control room expects to be here until at least 3 a.m.
For the most part, everyone has been pretty businesslike -- the producers basically have to coordinate everything going on today, from updates from correspondents to stock footage from the Capitol. But, of course, when the Obama girls came onscreen at the Capitol Building just before the inauguration ceremony, the collective response was "awwwww."
Everyone went silent when Obama started to speak.
All things considered, it's been a good day so far. When I reported to ABC this morning, I had assumed that I would be assigned to the parade route or the National Mall, but getting to see what goes on behind the scenes at a major news network during one of the biggest political events of our lifetime is absolutely awesome.
- Aubrey