Re-airing 9/11 Coverage

[Ksyrup]

So I see on CNN.com that they will be running the original 9/11 coverage on Monday starting at 8:30am for free on their Pipeline feature. I don't know if any other websites or networks will be doing the same, but I have to ask - why? Who the hell wants to experience that again? Will they be running the tsunami coverage around Christmas, too?

I just don't get it. I can remember seeing the seemingly innocent article on refdesk about a plane hitting the WTC that morning, then finding out it wasn't just "a plane" but a commerical jet and calling my wife to tell her about it. Then I remember her calling back a few minutes later, crying hysterically that she was watching live coverage and that another plane was heading for the WTC and had to listen to her reaction as it hit. And then, of course, everything that happened after that.

I can't possibly imagine wanting to relive all of that. It just seems grossly inappropriate and unnecessary.

[rkmsuf]

once again you capture my essence

I agree.

[Honolulu_Blue]

So I see on CNN.com that they will be running the original 9/11 coverage on Monday starting at 8:30am for free on their Pipeline feature. I don't know if any other websites or networks will be doing the same, but I have to ask - why? Who the hell wants to experience that again? Will they be running the tsunami coverage around Christmas, too?

I just don't get it. I can remember seeing the seemingly innocent article on refdesk about a plane hitting the WTC that morning, then finding out it wasn't just "a plane" but a commerical jet and calling my wife to tell her about it. Then I remember her calling back a few minutes later, crying hysterically that she was watching live coverage and that another plane was heading for the WTC and had to listen to her reaction as it hit. And then, of course, everything that happened after that.

I can't possibly imagine wanting to relive all of that. It just seems grossly inappropriate and unnecessary.

I agree on all accounts. I don't understand this decision at all.

What's the point? It seems terribly exploitative of what happened that day.

[Maple Leafs]

It would probably be extremely painful for most people to watch. But the coverage of the event is itself historically significant. As someone with a background in journalism I'd be interested in seeing it, although I'm not sure I'd actually want to watch it again (if that makes sense).

[Ksyrup]

But there's nothing keeping you from seeing that coverage, is there? I assume there are places all over the internet with clips that you could watch to satisfy your journalistic interest. To re-run the entire thing, on the anniversary, just seems pointless. Living it again, in real time, at the exact time it happened 5 years ago...I don't know what that accomplishes. I don't understand their purpose for doing it, although I can understand why you might be interested in seeing it again.

[Maple Leafs]

I've actually never seen sites that showed the whole thing -- not just the clips (and usually with someone talking over them).

I haven't exactly looked that hard, so I'm sure it's out there somewhere.

[Ksyrup]

I can say that I have never thought about it, either. I saw enough when it happened and in the weeks following, and tried to put it out of my mind after that.

[JonInMiddleGA]

But the coverage of the event is itself historically significant. As someone with a background in journalism I'd be interested in seeing it, although I'm not sure I'd actually want to watch it again (if that makes sense).

Makes sense to me, I see exactly what you're saying & largely agree with you.

That "background in journalism" means that you are probably like me & could get into the watching of how it was covered rather than what was being covered.

That said, I don't think enough time has passed yet for me to be able to enjoy that exercise on this particular event.

[Ksyrup]

Not to mention, I don't think that's what most viewers would be watching for. I can understand watching it from a "clinical" perspective, but this is obviously aimed at the general public and is for another reason. I just don't know what it is.

[rkmsuf]

Not to mention, I don't think that's what most viewers would be watching for. I can understand watching it from a "clinical" perspective, but this is obviously aimed at the general public and is for another reason. I just don't know what it is.

Katie Couric will find a way to bring it to you.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I just don't know what it is.

I'd say there's probably several reasons (note that I didn't say "good" reasons).

First & foremost, there's a feeling among the networks that they have to do ... something. And something weak is almost certainly being perceived as more of an option than not doing anything.

Next, re-running the original footage is marginally cheaper & definitely easier than anything else they could do.

Third, it's largely risk free. People who are put off by it are most likely IMO simply not going to watch for the day. I just don't see this sparking any significant viewer uprising or anything. But put together something original & have it come across badly, well that probably isn't enough to change viewer habits either but it would generate negative publicity from critics, colleagues, et al.

Probably somewhere in the mix is the notion that this is the easiest way to avoid accusation of political bias in the coverage. As I recall at least, on 9/11 and into 9/12, the coverage was largely focused on "what's happening" as opposed to analysis of reasons, responses, etc. A replay of the actual coverage avoids those questions (and leaves them for the other 364 days of the year).

Like I said, I'm not sure those are necessarily good reasons to run with this plan, but I suspect most of them are in the mix nonetheless. And, to be honest, I'm not sure I've got anything I would call a better idea myself (which is important if you agree with my first comment about doing something being pretty much a have-to).

[Ksyrup]

Probably somewhere in the mix is the notion that this is the easiest way to avoid accusation of political bias in the coverage.

Unless ABC runs its Peter Jennings coverage!

[Eaglesfan27]

I think this is a horrible decision, and I think it potentially re-traumatizes people.

[st.cronin]

I'm somewhat traumatized by just the thought of this.

[Maple Leafs]

One thing that I think people will find somewhat disturbing if they watch is the frequency with which the networks showed the crash/explosions on the first day. Everyone has seen the footage and knows it well, but it's still relatively rare to see these days. People forget that one that day, the networks originally showed it constantly throughout the day before eventually deciding to back off.

[Ksyrup]

Information was so scarce early on - especially in the hours before the towers collapsed - that they had very little else to show. And then the same thing happened with the towers.

I still remember the exact footage of the 1986 shuttle explosion I saw it so many times.

[HomerSimpson]

This is what I would like to know.
Did they ever release all the flight recordings of these 2 planes? Were the Black boxes ever found? Did the terrorist ever make any statements over the air? Did the terrorist ever identify themselves or why they were doing this?


Just seems somewhere there should be some kind of statement from the people abord the planes.


Have I just completely missed this info in the news?

[Greyroofoo]

I personally wish I could watch the cnn coverage of it, however I'll be at work so i'm probably SOL

[JeeberD]

I personally wish I could watch the cnn coverage of it, however I'll be at work so i'm probably SOL

Ditto

[illinifan999]

I remember our school told everyone to get off computers/internet and didn't allow teachers to turn tvs or radios on. The only idea I had of what had happened until I got home was when some girl came into our class saying "Iraq is bombing the white house".

[cthomer5000]

I'm agree. I see no reason to examine history, or how important that day was. Please show groundhog day and/or White House lawn easter egg hunt footage again. pls k thx.

[King of New York]

I remember our school told everyone to get off computers/internet and didn't allow teachers to turn tvs or radios on. The only idea I had of what had happened until I got home was when some girl came into our class saying "Iraq is bombing the white house".

Lynne Cheney was visiting your school that day? :confused:

[Cap Ologist]

I think I might like to watch the footage again. But only because I was fighting off an infection at the time and was on some serious pain killers. I remember lying in bed and wondering how many planes were going to crash before they learned, not realizing it was the same 2 planes shown over and over. I think I could probably sit through an hour of it, but after that I doubt I could hang in there very long.

[Butter]

I think it COULD potentially re-traumatize some, like the good doc said, but they can just not watch it if they feel it will be too painful. As for me, if I can, I plan on sneaking a peek or two at work. Frankly, seeing that stuff again hurts. I watched a bit of it on the Museum of TV & Radio web site a year after it happened. It is scary and it hurts, even though it's in the past. I hope it always hurts to remember these events. It always should. But it's important to me to always catch a glimpse of it now and then, so I can remember how much it hurt. It is our generation's Pearl Harbor.

[molson]

I've sought out this kind of footage in the past. I'm not completely sure why, except that it's clear people deal with events like this in different ways, and it's not fair to make blanket statements about what the correct/incorrect ways to deal with this are.

There will be memorial services for 9/11. Why? Why would people want to "re-live" 9/11? Why do we have funerals, and why do people visit a roadside memorial to a loved one killed in a car crash? Why would people want to "re-live" the grief of someone's death? The answer is, people, in there own way, WANT to remember these kinds of events, for whatever reason.

Personally, I've always been most moved by contempary memorials - news accounts of events, letters written by a loved one during their life. That's just how some people prefer to remember, as opposed to memories or accounts made well after the fact, tained by time.

[Dr. Sak]

That was one weird day for me and honestly it still seems a little unreal. I skipped out of work that day and drove to State College to play golf and see my girlfriend at the time. My tee off time was the exact time the first plane hit the tower. So for 5 and a half hours I thought nothing was wrong with the world. I remember playing and thinking what a beautiful day it was and just loving that I was out in the middle of no where enjoying a round of golf.

I get back to my car and have a dozen voicemails on my phone wondering if I knew what was going on. My first glimpse of what happened was probably around 230pm when I got to my gf's apartment. Classes were canceled for Penn State. On my drive home they made me take a detour around my normal route and now I realize why, I usually pass by the United 93 crash site and they made us all go way around it. I also remember listening to talk radio the whole way home and hearing Congress sing God Bless America.

So I'm not sure I really want to actually experience that day like most others did.

[Glengoyne]

On the west coast, I missed all of the initial reports. I turned on the TV to see Tower one fall. It took some time to grasp the scope of the events. It was a shocking situation, to say the least.

I don't think I have a problem with them re-airing the original coverage. I was a little bothered when I heard talking head psychologists saying that the networks should stop showing the footage, because it was somehow harmful to our psyche. We all have our scars from that day. I don't have a problem with mine. I don't want to forget what happened. I like having those memories and those feelings "fresh".

[stevew]

I remember listening to WNOR that morning as I dropped my wife off at work. IIRC, the were joking about how since Southwest had recently moved into the area, that they were planning a lot of fun trip giveaways for people, flying them places for the day since it was so cheap.

And then I got home, my 2 year old and I took a nap, and I woke up an hour or so later seeing a plane flying into the 2nd tower.

My wife said that the mood at her school was very odd all day. Not many teachers or students knew what was going on, but it was very troublesome to her as lot of the Navy Brass pulled their children out of school early throughout that day(Military town).

I didn't really realize the humongous scope of the event, until I tried to go out for dinner that night, and almost everything was closed. I vaguely remembered some of the hijackings from my youth stuff like the OK Bombing, and first WT bombing, and while they were a big deal, nothing really happened to that extent.

At the time, I really figured we'd try to find those responsible, but I had no idea we'd spend the next 5 years in military tasks related to(and some would say totally unrelated to) that event. We basically didn't do shit after the first time the building was bombed.

[muns]

I think it COULD potentially re-traumatize some, like the good doc said, but they can just not watch it if they feel it will be too painful. As for me, if I can, I plan on sneaking a peek or two at work. Frankly, seeing that stuff again hurts. I watched a bit of it on the Museum of TV & Radio web site a year after it happened. It is scary and it hurts, even though it's in the past. I hope it always hurts to remember these events. It always should. But it's important to me to always catch a glimpse of it now and then, so I can remember how much it hurt. It is our generation's Pearl Harbor.

You actually said it much better there than I ever could, (even if ya are a bengals fan :)

The college I work at is actually going to have General Wesley Clark speaking around 5 ish on Monday Spetember 11th. I am really looking forward to hearing his thoughts about the same thing that is being discussed here, as well as his outlook on whats going on around the world period. Should be an interesting day

MUNS

[molson]

At the time, I really figured we'd try to find those responsible, but I had no idea we'd spend the next 5 years in military tasks related to(and some would say totally unrelated to) that event. We basically didn't do shit after the first time the building was bombed.

I had the opposite thought, I was sure that suicide bombings, etc, would become a part of everyday life in our big cities. I'm actually pretty shocked the last 5 years have been as uneventful as they have been.

[JS19]

I remember our school told everyone to get off computers/internet and didn't allow teachers to turn tvs or radios on. The only idea I had of what had happened until I got home was when some girl came into our class saying "Iraq is bombing the white house".

Complete opposite of what happened in my school. Our teacher had informed us right after it happened, waited for more info and found out another had hit, then everyone was brought to the gym to watch everything else unfold on TV.

I didn't read through every post, so it has probably already been said, but I remember hearing on TV they are airing it all over again because "we should never forget". Like we would forget if they didn't do us the favor of airing it all over again. My guess is they are just doing it for ratings bc i'm sure many people will watch. The media just wants to make a story out of nothing like usual. Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying 9/11 was nothing, and that we shouldnt do anything on that day, but to re-air everything and make it an all day event is pointless IMO.

[bob]

I don't believe that this being shown on TV - this is being done online only, so you have to actively go to the site to watch it. It isn't like you will be flipping through the channels and just happen upon it.

[JS19]

I don't believe that this being shown on TV - this is being done online only, so you have to actively go to the site to watch it. It isn't like you will be flipping through the channels and just happen upon it.


Oh, thanks for clearing that up. Actually, now that I go back and read through, that's already stated in the first post.

[GrantDawg]

I would watch it, but I'll be at work. I would like to see how much it meshes with my memories of that day. It was the largest world-changing event of my life-time. It is interesting to me as history and interesting to see the reacations of the people as it happened, since I was in too much shock at the time to notice.

[Neon_Chaos]

It was about 9:00-10:00 PM-ish here in the Philippines when Tower 1 fell. I remember distinctly, I just came home from night class in college, and my parents were glued to the TV set. They said that one of the WTC Towers was hit by an airplane. I was able to watch the live CNN footage of the 2nd plane smashing into the other tower.

It was pretty surreal at that moment, since I had two aunts living in NY (now they're living in the West Coast). Made a couple of calls, and confirmed that they were alright.

[Maple Leafs]

I have this on in the backgroun here at work. It's really fascinating stuff.

What stands out so far is how, despite what we now see as "obvious", the initial coverage takes quite a while to figure out what's happening. In fact, when the second plane hits CNN is running local ABC coverage and they don't even realize it was a second plane -- they spend several minutes talking about how the fuselage from the first plane must have exploded.

At about 9:20 CNN cut in with breaking news that the FBI was investigating the possiblity of "foul play". Seems bizarre now.

[Ksyrup]

I still remember the exact thought process I had. When I saw the fairly innocous refdesk.com headline - something like "plane hits WTC" - I assumed it was some small commuter plane. I thought it was a big deal, but I just assumed it was a small plane and figured the weather was bad or something. When we confirmed it was a passenger jet, I knew it was obviously a huge deal and my first thoughts, again, were either weather or an "ordinary" airplane crash. That's when I called my wife, she turned on the TV, described the scene (including the good weather) and within a few minutes, was screaming that she saw another plane about to hit. Only at that point do I remember thinking we were under attack.

[wade moore]

I still remember this pretty well at the time too.

I was in college, and being a lazy college student, often woke up at the last minute possible to shower and get out the door as fast as I could. No news, no computer, etc.

So, I had a 10:00 class that day. So, I live about 5 minutes from campus, but it's hard to find parking and takes time to walk to class. So I got in my car around 9:30. Like normal, I turned on Mike and Mike in the morning (cause they were good 5 years ago unlike now).

So they sound oddly somber. Then I hear Mike Golic says something to the effect of, "Again, for those just joining us, two planes have hit the World Trade Center. Foul play is suspected."... etc, etc, etc...

It's so strange to realize that I found out about this from Mike Golic. I get to class and my professor basically did the "let's not let them stop us" type deal... He mentioned it briefly, stated that anyone that needs to leave to contact family go, and then we carried on with class.

After class, I went home and was absolutely glued to the TV. I don't remember if I had other classes, if they were cancelled, or what.. but I know I didn't go to them.

[wade moore]

Interesting... they just re-interviewed a guy by the Pentagon that they interviewed 5 years ago... (Yellow Polo, right outside of the Pentagon). Apparently this guy's interview 5 years ago where he said, "it was like a cruise missile with wings" is a large part of the conspiracy lunies on the internet who claim this wasn't a plane.

They asked him to clarify and he basically says he was trying to be descriptive and that it was quite clearly a plane to him, no doubt in his mind.

Interesting to me if this truely is a large part of the conspiracy buff logic.

[lordscarlet]

So they sound oddly somber. Then I hear Mike Golic says something to the effect of, "Again, for those just joining us, two planes have hit the World Trade Center. Foul play is suspected."... etc, etc, etc...


Similarly, I had a 1-2 hour commute to Alexandria, VA at that time. I was (surprise!) running late, and I was listening to Howard Stern. I first heard Robin say that a plane had hit the WTC (seemingly a small charter plane accident at first, as many people seemed to think) and then listened as they realized what was going on. It was the best Stern Show broadcast I've ever heard. The potty jokes and strippers were nowhere. It was simply a group of New Yorkers living the experience of having their city and their lives attacked.

I got to work and no one had heard about it. I told them, we turned on the small TV with bunny ears that we had, and when the Pentagon was hit we could see the smoke rising through the windows.

[Ksyrup]

Interesting... they just re-interviewed a guy by the Pentagon that they interviewed 5 years ago... (Yellow Polo, right outside of the Pentagon). Apparently this guy's interview 5 years ago where he said, "it was like a cruise missile with wings" is a large part of the conspiracy lunies on the internet who claim this wasn't a plane.

They asked him to clarify and he basically says he was trying to be descriptive and that it was quite clearly a plane to him, no doubt in his mind.

Interesting to me if this truely is a large part of the conspiracy buff logic.

That is so obvious to anymore with even a modicum of common sense it's hard to believe intelligent people get wrapped up in that nonsense. Of course, I assume the conspiracy theorists will say that the government got to him and made him change the meaning of what he said.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Similarly, I had a 1-2 hour commute to Alexandria, VA at that time. I was (surprise!) running late, and I was listening to Howard Stern. I first heard Robin say that a plane had hit the WTC (seemingly a small charter plane accident at first, as many people seemed to think) and then listened as they realized what was going on. It was the best Stern Show broadcast I've ever heard. The potty jokes and strippers were nowhere. It was simply a group of New Yorkers living the experience of having their city and their lives attacked.

I got to work and no one had heard about it. I told them, we turned on the small TV with bunny ears that we had, and when the Pentagon was hit we could see the smoke rising through the windows.

I had a somewhat similar experience, though no Howard Stern. I was working in D.C. at the time and had just gotten to work. I sitting in front of my computer and some co-worker walked by and said "A plane just hit the World Trade Center." I didn't get up and just thought "What kind of idiot flies a plane into a building?" Like most, I thought it was a small plane of some kind.

I then heard someone say a second plane had been hit. I got up and headed to a conference room down the hall where they had a TV on. We were watching CNN and couldn't believe what I saw.

I then looked out the windows of the conference room, which looked out across the Potomac. I saw a huge black cloud of smoke billowing out from where I knew the Pentagon was. I shouted "Someone just bombed the Pentagon." Someone said that wasn't the Pentagon, I said I knew it was because I lived nearby a few years ago. It was then I decided to leave work and walk home. This was before any news had reported the plane hitting the Pentagon.

The walk home was bizarre. There were thousands of people in the streets, talking on cellphones, sort of just wandering around aimlessly with a sense of panic. I worked in northwest D.C. and lived on Capitol Hill, so my walk took me along the Mall. Past the White House, Capitol, Supreme Court, and various other Federal buildings. I was forced to make a detour when I got near the Capitol.

I got home and watched TV all day. I remember falling asleep a few times, as I was completely exhausted from it all.

My wife had it much worse. She was in the subway heading to work in NYC. Her office was directly across the street from the WTC: One Liberty Plaza. (There were a few post 9-11 reports that the building was on the verge of collapse, though it never did). Her mother worked in the WTC (but was late to work that day) and her brother was on a flight from Newark to San Francisco. (His plane landed in Indy.) She came out of the subway and saw the smoking, flaming towers. She tried to make it to work and was turned back. She was one of the people running down the street away from the debris and rubble. She couldn't get a hold of her mom until around 2 PM that afternoon.

[RedKingGold]

I had a somewhat similar experience, though no Howard Stern. I was working in D.C. at the time and had just gotten to work. I sitting in front of my computer and some co-worker walked by and said "A plane just hit the World Trade Center." I didn't get up and just thought "What kind of idiot flies a plane into a building?" Like most, I thought it was a small plane of some kind.

I then heard someone say a second plane had been hit. I got up and headed to a conference room down the hall where they had a TV on. We were watching CNN and couldn't believe what I saw.

I then looked out the windows of the conference room, which looked out across the Potomac. I saw a huge black cloud of smoke billowing out from where I knew the Pentagon was. I shouted "Someone just bombed the Pentagon." Someone said that wasn't the Pentagon, I said I knew it was because I lived nearby a few years ago. It was then I decided to leave work and walk home. This was before any news had reported the plane hitting the Pentagon.

The walk home was bizarre. There were thousands of people in the streets, talking on cellphones, sort of just wandering around aimlessly with a sense of panic. I worked in northwest D.C. and lived on Capitol Hill, so my walk took me along the Mall. Past the White House, Capitol, Supreme Court, and various other Federal buildings. I was forced to make a detour when I got near the Capitol.

I got home and watched TV all day. I remember falling asleep a few times, as I was completely exhausted from it all.

My wife had it much worse. She was in the subway heading to work in NYC. Her office was directly across the street from the WTC: One Liberty Plaza. (There were a few post 9-11 reports that the building was on the verge of collapse, though it never did). Her mother worked in the WTC (but was late to work that day) and her brother was on a flight from Newark to San Francisco. (His plane landed in Indy.) She came out of the subway and saw the smoking, flaming towers. She tried to make it to work and was turned back. She was one of the people running down the street away from the debris and rubble. She couldn't get a hold of her mom until around 2 PM that afternoon.

It's stories like this that send chills down my spine. I was fortunate in that I grew up in a small town in Northeastern Pennsylvania. I had no family in NYC, Washington, or near where the last plane went down in western PA. To me, it almost seemed like a movie because I was so detached from it.

But when you do hear stories of people who were directly involved, it smacks you back to reality. There is actually a world outside of the tiny bubble I call my life. It is really easy to forget that sometimes.

I'm just trying to fight my way through the first year of law school, and it can get very desenstizing sometimes. The way we talk about cars exploding and people catching on fire in torts and how we talk about some things in crim-law; its easy to forget the value of human life.

Thanks HB for shocking me back to reality.

[molson]

That is so obvious to anymore with even a modicum of common sense it's hard to believe intelligent people get wrapped up in that nonsense. Of course, I assume the conspiracy theorists will say that the government got to him and made him change the meaning of what he said.

Listening to this stuff (and Howard Stern, who's replaying his 9/11 show) really sheds light on the origin of the conspiracy nutjobs.

It was such a chaotic day. There was so much rush to judgment and fact, and so much misinformation. There's talk of bombs at the WTC, bombs in the plane, a third plane hitting the WTC, planes flying overhead in Los Angeles, a White House attack "imminent", it goes on and on.

When people look back at any important event, whether it be an assasination, terrorist attack, war, etc., they have to realize that events don't happen in a vacuum. Real events aren't smooth and clean, like a movie, but chaotic. People and objects don't react the way you think they might. And above all, time and memory largely censor the events into clean and tidy package - you can't look at events contrary to that tidiness and see something that's not there.

[bob]

I was in a computer engineering class from 8:30 - 10:30 that morning, so I never saw any of the coverage until after both towers had collapsed. Nobody bothered to tell us, but Georgia Tech did cancel all classes after that.

Since i didn't see, I was very interested in watching this to see how it was covered. I have to say that I'm amazed by the professionalism displayed by the on air people at CNN.

[st.cronin]

I was in Manhattan - I was working for a company in a building just across the street from the WTC. That morning I was farther downtown, doing some training. It was a horrible, horrible day, and my memories of it are still very confusing.

[GoldenEagle]

I was sitting in Senior Latin when a coach came in and told us. It was sort of like what happened? The halls quiet were so quiet when we were changing classes for the first time that day. We then turned it on in out Senior English class. They only allowed seniors to watch the footage.

[Captain2711]

I was driving to work in Ashburn, Virginia at about 10 am when I heard about the attacks. The woman on the radio said the Tower 2 fell and I kept shouting at her to stop misconstruing the information. There is no way that building fell. When I finally got to work I tried to get in touch with my father who is an electrician and can be anywhere in NYC and couldn't. My uncle who works in WTC building 5, I couldn't get in touch with either. (He took the day off to golf and celebrate his daughters birthday's) I sat in my office calling number after number with no answer anywhere, when a tremendous weight fell on me. I sat there with the phone off the hook and my hand trembling over the numbers. My boss said, "what's wrong?" and I said, "I have no one else left to call."

[Butter]

Saw briefly on CNN coverage from that day that the AP reported a car bombing at the State Department that day. Crazy misinformation.

[SirFozzie]

God... has it been five years?

I was working at a call center that morning, and someone two rows from me just let out a amazed swear.. she wasn't one to swear, so all eyes went to her.. She said "A plane just hit the WTC in New York"...

and the next few hours were a nightmare that you just couldn't wake up from..

Eventually all of us were taken off the phones (none of us could concentrate).. and we huddled around one of the Executives TV's.. just.. surreal. unbelieveable. They sent us home, and I remember being numb the whole drive. listening to the radio, praying and hoping someone would tell us all it was a cruel joke. War of the Worlds updated to 2001. It never came.

I hope that the thousands of lives that were lost in NYC, in the skies, at the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania are never forgotten.

[kcchief19]

I have this on in the backgroun here at work. It's really fascinating stuff.

What stands out so far is how, despite what we now see as "obvious", the initial coverage takes quite a while to figure out what's happening. In fact, when the second plane hits CNN is running local ABC coverage and they don't even realize it was a second plane -- they spend several minutes talking about how the fuselage from the first plane must have exploded.

At about 9:20 CNN cut in with breaking news that the FBI was investigating the possiblity of "foul play". Seems bizarre now.
I just finished watching the first 90 minutes ... very interesting look back. Among interesting notes to me:

* On the stock ticker, the Dow futures was up 25 when the first plane hit. At the next update, the futures were down 150, which makes sense. Then the futures actually rebounded to down 50, which certainly suggests that traders were likely taking advantage of the initial panic to try and make some money. After the second plane hit, the future dropped back down and the trading was suspended.

* It was roughly an hour and five minutes before a CNN reporter said a government source told them that they believed the explosions were linked to Osama bin Laden. Very impressive.

* As noted, the number of false reports of explosions in Washington DC were rampant, including the fire on the mall, the explosion at the state department and a brief mention of a fire at the capitol.

* CNN reported people running from the White House and the Capitol while being evacuated, but it took quite a while before they got a source who told them it was because of the report that another plane (United 93) was headed toward Washington.

* I think it took about 35 minutes before the reports of a hijacking started, another 10-15 minuts before reports of a plane from Boston. In the first 90 minutes, there were no reports about the second plane and no reports about what flights were involved.

* It seems like it took quite a while before the crash of United 93 came out. I'd have to find a timeline, but I thought that happened about 10 ET. The first 90 minutes of CNN's coverage extended to about 10:20, but there was no report yet about United 93.

It's horrifying to see, but like Maple Leafs suggested the other day, it's a fascinating history lesson and an incredible look at journalism. The gasp you hear in the background from Aaron Brown and the CNN newsroom when they were interviewing Jamie McIntire from the Pentagon when the the first tower collapsed is heartbreaking.

[Dekanth]

I've spent part of the day wtching the real time feeds from CNN, as well as listening to Howard Stern's 9/11 show replay. Its pretty amazing how slow CNN was in getting any useful opinions out, and even accurate information. On Howard's show, I think they said the name Bin Laden within 15 minutes of hearing the news. I think Gary knew it was terrorism within 5 minutes. The HS Show is pretty amazing to listen to, much better than the CNN news feeds. I didn't find out about what was going on until maybe a half hour after the two towers fell, so this is the first time I am actually watching it. Almost wish I had decided not to. It put me in a very somber mood.

[Wolfpack]

I had gotten to work rougly about the time the first tower was struck. I went through my morning rountine of checking email and looking at my Yahoo news page where I first noticed the headline about a plane crashing into the WTC. I clicked for details wondering (as it seems a lot of others did) whether it was some drunk in a Cessna. There was no details, just a repeat of headlines in the article. I go over to one of the news sites...slow as hell. Huh? Check another, and another...they're all slow. Make sure my connection's good by check umich.edu and yahoo.com. So I go across the hall to tell this to one of my co-workers and he's as surprised about it as I am. I go back and continue my routine and I get to the ACC boards Town Square (general board talk forum) where they're talking about it there. It is in one of the threads that I see the first chilling picture of a massive 'X' with smoke pouring out of it in the WTC that I find out this is much, much bigger than I thought. At that point, I go back to my co-worker and tell him about it. It's about this time that just about everyone else in the office is coming to this understanding. We find another co-worker who's listening to NPR through his computer, and they're all as confused on-air as just about everyone else was at that moment. I went back and sat at my desk, following the ACC board threads talking about it (and all the attendant rumors of false explosions that have been noted here). It was there that I found out when the towers collapsed. I never actually saw that live. Eventually another guy went out and got a TV and brought it back and a bunch of us watched it in the lunchroom, which was when I actually saw the collapse for the first time. Oddly, I don't think I was as stunned seeing it on tape delay. Knowing that it had happened I think cushioned some of the shock of seeing it actually happen. Eventually, we were told it was okay to go home if we wanted to, so I did. As did a lot of others in Ann Arbor that day because it was jammed on all the streets in town. I do remember that some peace activists were already out in force across the road from the Red Cross clinic on Packard and being somewhat astonished at that.

My wife and I watched a lot of the coverage that night. She was in grad school at the time and was teaching a class that morning, so she only knew of the plane crashes and not of the outcome until much later than I did.

It all felt very personal for me the next day when I was standing outside my office looking up and seeing an F-16 in the sky overhead. Civil aviation was grounded, of course, but apparently, some CAP plane had taken off from the Ann Arbor airport and so they scrambled the fighter to check it out. I could see pretty well the missiles on the wingtips and I knew then that this wasn't some air show or anything like that. Those missiles were live and armed and he'd shoot that plane down if he had to. Chilled me a bit seeing that.

My marriage and honeymoon also connected vaguely with 9/11. My wife and I were married in Raleigh on August 11, 2001, one month before. We then went on a honeymoon to the Canadian Maritimes. On our return to the US, we flew through Newark Airport on August 23. I remember being able to look out the window there and seeing the skyline of New York across the river, including the WTC. I never knew that was going to be the last I would ever see of those buildings. Had 9/11 not happened, I may have in time forgotten seeing the New York skyline as it was that day, but not now.

[Maple Leafs]

A few more thoughts...

- I'm really impressed with how CNN covered this. Especially once Aaron Brown arrives, the coverage is really understated and respectful, with lots of care to make sure any unconfirmed reports are clearly presented that way.

- It was interesting, if you can call it that, to hear Brown struggle with his words when the first tower came down. I honestly don't think he understood what was happening. He keeps using terms like "partial" when it's clear from the footage that the building is gone. When the second one goes down a half hour later he's clearly well aware of what he's watching and his cracking voice reflects that.

- From time to time on the CNN replay there are sections that are unavaiable (maybe due to tape reels being switched, etc), so they show a note to that effect while some music plays. No doubt the conspiracy theorists will be all over that.

[Maple Leafs]

Interesting... they've spent the last hour or so discussing the outbreak of missle fire in Afghanistan, which ended up being rebel fighting and completely unrelated to the events in the US.

[kcchief19]

A few more thoughts...

- I'm really impressed with how CNN covered this. Especially once Aaron Brown arrives, the coverage is really understated and respectful, with lots of care to make sure any unconfirmed reports are clearly presented that way.

- It was interesting, if you can call it that, to hear Brown struggle with his words when the first tower came down. I honestly don't think he understood what was happening. He keeps using terms like "partial" when it's clear from the footage that the building is gone. When the second one goes down a half hour later he's clearly well aware of what he's watching and his cracking voice reflects that.

- From time to time on the CNN replay there are sections that are unavaiable (maybe due to tape reels being switched, etc), so they show a note to that effect while some music plays. No doubt the conspiracy theorists will be all over that.
I remember thinking at the time that Aaron Brown did an outstanding and underrated job, and looking back at the coverage reinforces that to me.

I think his reluctance to describe the tower collapse as total was partially due to this view and partially due to his not wanting to jump to conclusions. I think he did a very good job of labeling reports in regard to what was confirmed and what was not.

I think the biggest snafu of their coverage was when they were simulcasting WABC and the camera angle from their traffic copter showed the second airplane hitting and the in-studio anchors didn't see it -- the initially attributed it to the fuselage of the first plane exploding in the first tower.

Horrifying stuff, but very enlightening.

[Buccaneer]

I can't believe I watched all three hours. Five years ago, my wife and I was watching ABC or Fox or both, I forget, after I came home from work and we saw the towers fall. That was when we lost it. But now seeing the CNN report, I agree that Aaron Brown did an excellent job - of understated as they all should be. I recall Peter Jennings adding his usual off-the-cuff remarks and now wished we had watched CNN instead. Very good history lesson.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I was sleeping in after working late the night before, until my wife called me downstairs, said I needed to see something. Rather grudgingly, I stumbled into the room & saw the images on Today. Looking back, I now know that I must have gone downstairs just about 9:00, since just a few minutes later the plane struck the second tower.

Most of the rest of the day is sort of a blur to me, to be honest. There's a lot of stuff I remember in between watching those now famous video clips over & over.

Within just a few minutes we thought of one of our best friends, who usually got off the subway at the WTC stop (or whatever was closest to the towers). It was two days before we talked to her, turned out her perpetually late tendency was reversed that morning, she had actually gone to work around 8am & was already at her desk a few blocks away. Her fiancee, an IT guy, often worked at the WTC but was elsewhere on 9/11.

As word came of the Pentagon crash, we tried to figure out the schedules of my wife's best friend who is a flight attendant, and of her husband who is a pilot for another airline. As it turned out, both were off that day.

And I spent a lot of the day cancelling radio commercials in about a dozen cities. The spot we had running was a comedy spot with a military theme, but included a line about "We're being attacked", and that just didn't seem like a good thing to have on the air. I had worked for someone who often told stories about the importance of having contingency plans for every client (she was working on the Kool-Aid account at the time of the Jonestown massacre) & I guess that training kicked in. Sounds crazy I guess, but I just reverted to what I was taught to do. And I think it probably gave me something to do other than just stare at the television in horror, which I then did until sometime around 4 or 5 am before finally dozing off for a while.

[Craptacular]

I was unemployed, going to bed about 4 or 5, waking up around noon. My wife (fiance at the time) called me in a hurry, told me "two planes crashed into the World Trade Center, thought you'd want to know, bye", and hung up. I stumbled into the living room, got real close to the TV because I didn't have my contacts in, and watched for a few minutes. I quickly went and put my contacts in, turned on the second TV I had out there so I could watch two football games at once, and left CNN on one while I flipped through the networks on the other. I basically sat on the couch for two days.

Today, I put the CNN coverage on while I worked, just listening to the audio. For the most part, I could picture Aaron Brown on the roof without even bringing up the window to look at things. It was way too familiar for having been five years ago.