Jockeying for position on the trading floor
By Jennifer Westhoven and Chris Moon
CNN Headline News
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Anchor Jennifer Westhoven, left, and producer Chris Moon at the New York Stock Exchange.
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(CNN) -- Reporting from the New York Stock Exchange is exhilarating and fast-paced, as we dodge traders to find numbers and stories on the fly. It's all part of the action.
A day at the Big Board starts with a walk through some of the toughest security in the country, for obvious reasons. It's amazing, but admittedly sometimes scary, to work in a place that's been a top target for terrorists in the world.
After passing through the maze of guards, we put our heads together to find the most relevant business stories that day -- the stock market action, but also the big headlines and the fun business stories, too. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find not just the big story, but business stories for lay people as well as traders and finance people.
Finding a misbehaving CEO is easy. On a recent day, for example, a jury got to see pictures of an extravagant New York City apartment that's in the center of the Tyco $600 million CEO-looting trial. But there are plenty of other stories about mutual fund trading scandals that can dent America's faith in Wall Street. It's supposed to be a level playing field for everyone. So that's a big part of the work, too -- finding the connections that make business stories relevant.
The best part is the trading floor because the energy is palpable. Just try making your way through hundreds of busy traders jockeying for position. Plenty of times, big burly guys are in your camera spot, but you have to be considerate. They might be trading millions of dollars' worth of someone's money.
It's usually all very smooth because everyone is used to the constant buzz -- but be prepared to be bumped and jostled, even on the air. These guys are working hard and fighting for the best trade. They can't worry about cameras, just as we can't let them distract us.
