On devastating day, news coverage took center stage
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Headlines and heartache filled this day exactly 25 years ago. Across the nation, stunned residents gathered in front of televisions or turned on radios for minute-by-minute updates on the horrors happening in our homeland.
Another large segment of the population turned to newspapers -- that evening and the next morning. Hundreds of publications, including The Post-Journal in Jamestown, the OBSERVER in Dunkirk and Times Observer in Warren, Pa., printed a special edition the day of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington and the Flight 93 crash in Shanksville, Pa.
During the first 24 hours of chaos, there was no social media outlet to share opinions, feelings or thoughts electronically as the Internet was still in its infancy. That kept communication in 2001 much more personal, especially in the final years of dominance for landline telephones that were overloaded on that infamous day.
A Gallup poll released in 2003 found that around 2001, some 56% of Americans owned a cell phone. Another study from that time revealed about only 1.5% were mobile-only phone U.S. households. Today, the number is closer to 80%.
As our nation coped with the devastation and uncertainty, members of the media understood their responsibility on this trying day. Even so, it was tough to remain objective through the emotions of it all.
"With all of the journalists I talked with who were covering 9/11, the common thread was that they really did have a sense of public service and public duty," said Ben Bogardus, professor and chair of the department of journalism at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. "They did this even though they were scared. They were frightened and didn’t necessarily want to be there. They wanted to be home. Like so many of us, they wanted to check in with their friends and family."
But 2001 was a different time in America and the industry. Even if you disagreed with how the story was told, the news was never fake.
In looking back on how Sept. 11 was covered on the following day, there was no sensationalism or overzealousness. Instead, the newspapers reveal a somber and sympathetic tone that includes a bit of anger that came courtesy of President George W. Bush who vowed to punish those responsible for the "evil" acts.
Some of those headlines of Sept. 12 noted:
-- From the New York Times -- "A Creeping Horror: Buildings Burn and Fall as Onlookers Search for Elusive Safety."
-- From USA Today -- "Terrorists strike; death toll 'horrendous'; Minute by minute, fear envelops the country."
-- From The Buffalo News -- " 'Despicable acts' shatter security of the country."
-- From The Wall Street Journal -- "Nation Stands In Disbelief And Horror; Streets of Manhattan Resemble War Zone Amid Clouds of Ash."
-- From The Post-Journal -- "America Is Forever Changed"; "Red Cross Office Swamped By Donors Following Terrorist Attacks."
-- From the OBSERVER -- "Our Darkest Day."
-- From the Times Observer -- "TERROR; Warren County stops, watches, worries."
One other important note that comes with 2001 attacks also involves the print industry. It is the last major event that makes newspapers a keepsake, almost like a scrapbook of events as they were happening.
Even today, our newsroom receives calls from readers who are moving or going through relics from their families’ collections. Often, they share in finding prominent print editions that include headlines for the end of World War II or the United States reaching the moon.
Those pieces of the past include the personalities of the time period as well as big and small businesses that made communities tick. As the digital age grows its foothold, memories keep moving away from paper and photos to our phone screens.
Those images are easier and cleaner to access, but there's something special about holding on to history.
John D'Agostino is the editor of The Post-Journal, OBSERVER and Times Observer in Warren, Pa. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 716-487-1111, ext. 253.