CNN's Hologram Reporting: 7/10

Whoever was going to win yesterday's US election, the country's Ambassador to Britain wasn't going to stick around. Robert Tuttle told me he and his wife plan to spend a few months in Paris, before heading home to his family-run car business.

Which is why it was so jolly sporting of him to throw such a lavish election night (or should that be, farewell?) party at the Embassy in Grosvenor Square.

There were celebs (real ones) aplenty, including Josh Hartnett, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, and a phalanx of MPs from all parties. Most of the guests, though, were probably journalists who'd blagged their way in, if the number of my colleagues was anything to go by.

The highlight of the evening - for me, at least - was not the free drinks; the Burger King & Subway in the basement; or the commemorative pen (okay, pens) I acquired as a memento of the evening's festivities.

The best bit was the in-house cinema that televised live coverage of the election results as the drama unfolded.

CNN was the channel of choice. I'm no fan of the cable network, but they certainly get full marks for effort and the stunning graphics they employed on the night.

And they surely deserve a prize for pushing the boundaries of broadcasting technology to the limit with what must be the first ever Hologram Report.



Yes, showing that content doesn't matter when you have space-age gimmicks to play with, they had Wolf Blitzer in the studio interviewing a reporter in Chicago - beamed, 3-D, into the same studio as the Wolfman.

It bore an uncanny resemblance to Princess Lea's first appearance in Star Wars. You know, when she's projected holographically from R2D2's head.

It was pointless and extravagent on so many levels: why have a reporter in Chicago if all you're going to do is show her in your studio as a hologram?; why, when CNN's advertisers are presumably scaling back, would they spend a small fortune on this (oh for the days when two-camera shoots were ruled out because of costs)?; and why, when the reporter is being beamed into the studio, is it necessary to spend half the interview explaining to the audience what the hell is going on?

I have to admit, though, that an awe-inspired hush swept through the room when the Hologram made its debut. It was, indeed, oddly beguilling. I just can't remember what the reporter was talking about.