On the night of May 19 , after the network had gotten word that troops were moving towards Beijing , Shaw and Moscow correspondent Steve Hurst broadcast from Tiananmen Square for several hours -- in the dark . The story `` put CNN on the map , '' said former Beijing bureau chief Mike Chinoy . Reporters had flooded Beijing to cover the visit of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev . For the first time , a TV network beamed its own live pictures from China . It was an unprecedented moment in television history and it helped launch CNN's global reputation as one of the most trusted news sources for viewers around the world.
The story `` put CNN on the map , '' said former Beijing bureau chief Mike Chinoy . Reporters had flooded Beijing to cover the visit of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev . For the first time , a TV network beamed its own live pictures from China . It was an unprecedented moment in television history and it helped launch CNN's global reputation as one of the most trusted news sources for viewers around the world.