Meet the Arizonan covering the royal wedding
Wondering if there was Phoenix representation at the royal wedding? Then check out the coverage on CNN en Español, which was headed by Samuel Burke.
Burke is a true Phoenician: He was born and raised in the Arizona capital, where he attended Madison No. 1 Middle School and North High School. He’s also incredibly smart, graduating summa cum laude from the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University. He then went on to receive a master’s degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Burke, who speaks fluent Spanish, has dual careers. He serves as a business and technology correspondent for CNN while also anchoring the morning show on CNN en Español. He’s been based in London since 2016, though he gets to Phoenix at least twice a year.
During a quick phone call before the wedding, Burke told us what it’s like being an Arizonan in England during the heady era of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Question: Were you excited to cover the wedding or was it like, “Do I have to do this?”
Answer: Oh no, everybody wants to be a part of it. It shines such a nice light on London. I was going to ask, but then they asked me. I’m kind of known as their London guy (for CNN en Español).
Q: How long have you known you were covering it?
A: I found out a few months ago. They came and said, “Will you be in town that week?” “Of course I”ll be in town!” They’ve been planning this for ages. They’re going to have coverage starting at 4 a.m. Eastern time.
Q: How do you prepare?
A: Internally, they started a gigantic book for us that they began writing that first day. All the preparation is there.
Q: When you’re not working, do you follow the royal couple?
A: I follow them because I live in the U.K. Whether you’re a huge fan of the royals or not, you’re following them by osmosis. You’re inundated with all the minutiae that we get in the tabloids, so they’re always on my radar. You can see them out and about sometimes. It’s not that unusual. When I lived in Notting Hill, I used to go running outside their house, and they live right in the house where they grew up.
Q: How long a day will this be for you?
A: I will be there before the royals. I’ve got to get there before everybody else and claim my stake. I’ve got to get my space near a cellphone tower. And I’ve got to tell you as a Phoenician, it’s going to be 70 degrees and sunny out. That’s a cool day for anyone back in Phoenix, but it’s hot here. It’s like the sun gods are smiling down on Harry and Meghan! It’s like another bonus!
Q: How big is this for CNN?
A: I can’t describe the enormity of the operation. We built our own tower, and Anderson Cooper, Alisyn Camerota and Don Lemon will be there. It’s a huge undertaking, and it’s taking hundreds of people to make it all happen smoothly.
Q: Will you be glad when it’s all over?
A: It’s really a feel-good story. So often you have to cover stories that are really difficult. For us to have one week where we’re just talking about a love story and a prince from the U.K.? I think that’s really neat.
Q: You’re a regular guy who went to North High. Do you ever stop and think, “How did I end up here?”
A: (Laughing) All the time. I always thought I would become a journalist. Arizona is so close to Mexico that I thought I would end up working maybe for CNN in Mexico or maybe some other part of Latin America. And the funny thing is, when you say, “How did a guy from North High School end up in London?” there’s another guy from North High School here at CNN in London. He was my tennis-team captain. So there’s two guys from Phoenix, from North High, who have done all right at CNN in London!