Poynter.org contributor Victor Merina is riding a bus from Los Angeles to New York City, with his Manhattan arrival scheduled for the early morning hours of Sept. 11. Along the way, he’s talking with his fellow passengers and others about the news of 9/11. He will be calling in reports for Poynter.org as possible, and we will publish them.
From New York, Sept. 11, 4 p.m.
Today was the Gathering of Media. And mea culpa, mea culpa. I was among them.
Most important, of course, was the fact that today was held for the solemn remembrance of the 2,801 people who died at the World Trade Center, as well as those who also perished at the Pentagon and those who now lie buried in a remote field in Shanksville, Pa.
It was a day when Americans took a collective breath and heard the bells toll and horns blare at the fateful hour and that precise minute when the first plane struck a city’s structural landmark and wounded a country’s unsuspecting heart.
It was a day that overshadowed the fact that even in our more unified state, we also go our separate ways between those believing we are a nation made stronger for the tragedy or those who feel we are one weakened by this calamity.
It was a day for all that and more. We honored the victims and heroes by reading names and holding vigils and acknowledged the quiet parade of surviving friends and family who clutched their pictures and memories.
We thanked the nameless New Yorkers and those non-New Yorkers who helped when there was, first, terror and, then, when there was the grim cleanup task to do.
At the same time, we also were reminded that our children had more than their innocence snatched when they awoke a year ago to watch a horrifically true reality television show of death and despair.
For many of us hoping to repair our lives by avoiding the replay button, today was the one moment we allowed ourselves to relive the scenes when the towers collapsed, when Washington was struck, when “Let’s Roll” became a final — and now trademark — act of courage.
But it also was a day for the media, because we were there to record it all, photograph every moment, write every word, weigh each morsel of speculation.
We journalists were there at Ground Zero angling for position — however politely — and doing our stand-ups on the high-rise rooftops and in street-level interviews with the yawning maw of a now tower-less site as our backdrop. We made sure the dateline was on our stories and made promos to remind our readers or viewers or listeners of that fact.
We were a media army that moved relentlessly in our pursuit of news, however respectfully we say we did it. The columnists and anchors from out-of-state newspapers and distant television stations and far-away radio programs were here. The ratchet-up-the-volume talk show hosts were broadcasting to their faithful call-in audience from as close to the sanctified spot as they possibly could. And the media, in general, were wall-to-wall, notebook-to-notebook, mike-to-mike, rating point-to-rating point.
We were here because when it comes to disaster and misfortune and devastation, we are always present — or running close behind, desperately trying to get there. After all, that is our job. It is our responsibility. It’s what is expected of us. And for some of us, it is our calling.
Sadly, there were other reasons to be here. There were journalists who came to quietly honor their own colleagues among those who died on Sept. 11, fallen professionals who covered the World Trade Center story to the very last.
And sadly also, there were times when we, the media, rushed to join the story rather than cover it. In fact, some of us pinned enough American flags on our on-the-air lapels or sold enough newspapers bursting with cut-out American flags to give media merchandising a dubious name. It seemed at times as if we yearned to be the Patriotic Press with the emphasis on the former at the expense of the latter.
But mostly we were here, so many of us — big media, little media and nearly everything in-between — to cover the Big Story. Perhaps the biggest story of many of our careers.
And, yes, I was here, too, with my dateline and my notebook and my questions.
I had arrived early this morning after 66 hours on a bus from Los Angeles, talking to passengers along the 3,079-mile asphalt voyage and interviewing them during the day and into the evening. When given a chance, some of my fellow travelers were eager to tell me what’s right with America and what’s wrong with the media. And I listened to what they had to say while hearing what my clip file of memories also told me.
A decade ago, I was sent by the Los Angeles Times to cover Hurricane Iniki as it swept through the Hawaiian island of Kauai. I was there as people tried to pick up their lives, and as a reporter, I easily picked through their debris. I asked questions and elicited answers, and however unintentionally, some of both were reminders of their loss. It was a painful experience for them. It was an uncomfortable moment for me. But I was there, and I got the story.
When Hurricane Iniki struck, it was on Sept. 11, 1992, and after spending almost two weeks on Kauai, I recall thinking that date would be my touchstone for disaster. My private 9/11. How wrong I would be.
Now, a decade later, I found myself on that bus trip to New York with the tables turned, and a new passenger is suddenly asking me questions. Why was I headed for the city? Why there? Why now? Before I could answer the obvious, another rider stepped in and pointed to my open notebook and inquisitive manner. “I know why,” she said. “It’s because you’re the media.”
When I didn’t write down her quote, she seemed disappointed. But I merely smiled and closed my notebook. She didn’t realize I had no need to write down her words. I already knew them by heart.
From outside Terre Haute, Indiana, Sept. 10, 2 p.m.
In Albuquerque, it was about faith. In Amarillo, it was about detailing the plight of crop-dusting pilots grounded in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack.
In Oklahoma City and White Plains, New York, it was the product of teamwork by staffers who never saw each other and were separated by half the country.
And in Los Angeles, for readers of the region’s largest Spanish-language daily, the stories were reminders of how universal the loss and how deep the fallout has been from 9/11.
This is what some newspapers from California to New York have given their readers in the final days leading up to Wednesday’s somber anniversary. And it is what a traveler, writing in a Greyhound bus from coast to coast, collected on a journey to Ground Zero.
Among those papers was the Monday morning edition of the ABQ Journal with its front page story, “Faithful Trust In Future.” In the lead story, writer Chris Ramirez detailed how church goers are seeking spiritual guidance and a renewal of faith as Sept. 11 approached.
The theme of the story, which was played out in other papers around the country, struck a chord with some of the passengers on board the Greyhound bus. To them, the story of post-9/11 was one of resilience and character and faith.
“I think the media has done a good job with that story,” said Bobbie Face of Kingman, Ariz., who wore a cross necklace and talked about the Bible with other passengers.
The coverage, however, has not been confined to Christians. The Amarillo-Globe News published an Associated Press story on its front page describing the difficult year many Muslims have faced. What they experienced, said one Muslim in the story, was the best and worst of Americans as some were harassed or harmed while others were helped in overcoming discrimination.
But for that Texas newspaper, the top story in that day’s 9/11 coverage was a localized angle relating to how the crop-dusting industry — including nearby companies — has been hard hit financially by grounding of planes because of security concerns.
Reporter Rick Storm’s piece in the Globe-News was in the journalistic tradition of localizing national or international news and focusing on the impact such far-flung events can have at home.
In Oklahoma, localizing the 9/11 story also meant reaching back to another horrific event — the Oklahoma City bombing — to connect readers and bridge what were unrelated tragedies six years apart.
In the Tulsa World, a front page story by Randy Krehbiel showed how mental health workers and surviving families of the victims of the 1995 bombing of the federal building in downtown Oklahoma put their experience to work in the wake of Sept. 11.
It was a logical story and a reasonable link to make, but The Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City was able to take it a step farther when they formed an unusual partnership with a New York newspaper.
On the day after the terrorist attack last fall, Henry Freeman of The Journal News in White Plains called Sue Hale, The Oklahoman‘s executive editor. He was seeking advice based on The Oklahoman‘s coverage of the local bombing.
Freeman was concerned about The Journal staffers who had friends and family members in the World Trade Center towers. He also wanted to provide the best coverage for his readers. With those goals, the rapport was established between the two newsrooms.
Under the arrangement, for the past year, readers of one paper were able to view the work of the other newspaper’s staff. (Read Freeman’s note to his staff)
In an explanatory box accompanying the front page piece, The Oklahoman informed its readers of their year-long partnership: “It reflects the bond between Oklahoma City and New York, forged in the aftermath of terrorist acts.”
Dan Greenfield, metro editor of The Journal News, describes the relationship as “a reaching out journalistically.”
On Monday, The Oklahoman published the story written by reporters from The Journal News. Headlined “Children Remind Moms of Loss,” the story talked about mothers raising their children alone after the death of their husbands in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
The Journal News story to appear in The Oklahoman on Sept. 11 will describe the life of a New Yorker now.
Sometimes forgotten in the spotlight on the mainstream newspapers is the role of ethnic or community publications that serve a large audience also afftected by the ramifications of 9/11.
As Spanish-speaking passengers departed the bus station in Los Angeles, they could read the coverage in La Opinion. Sunday’s main story headlined the shift in the country — and the “Antes y Despues del 11 de Septiembre” — or “Before And After September 11.” And it spoke of profound changes in the politics, economy, and daily life of Americans.
Another story by MarÃa Luisa Arridondo focused on the after effects of the trauma that children continue to experience.
Meanwhile some newspapers along the way have used some of their pages to write about patriotism — and pass out keepsake US flags — while asking readers in one instant poll by the Los Angeles Daily News, “Are you more patriotic today than you were a year ago?”
As the 9/11 anniversary approaches, the coverage and space devoted to remembrances and events surrounding that day have intensified.
Like many major newspapers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has run a series of stories leading up to Wednesday. Included have been stories on lingering safety concerns, the impact on the economy and the “new national and world order.”
A much smaller Decatur (Illinois), Herald & Review had a front page story Tuesday on three local firefighters on a motorcycle ride to Ground Zero and other stops as part of a 5,000 mile “ride to remember.”
For most newspapers, the 9/11 stories have fallen into some broad categories:
• the local angle
• reliant American
• faith & patriotism
• remembering heroes & victims
• treatment of Muslim & others
• the lingering impact on economy, politics, children
• the fears of another attack
In the end, daily news coverage and special sections alike have been carefully planned, executed and printed by the truckloads. But there remains the odd juxtaposition or quirks that surface in the deluge of copy.
For example, the Albuquerque Journal had a front page story headlined “US urged to move past anger.” A half-dozen pages away in the editorial section was a John Leo column taking a different tack. Its headline read: “Anger is missing attitude in America one year later.”
From Amarillo, Sept. 9, 2 p.m.
Colie Franklin leaned forward at the Dairy Queen in the tiny town of Lenwood, California, pondering the question placed before him. Then, he attacked it with the same zeal he had displayed in downing his cheeseburger lunch and Mr. Pibbs chaser.
“What hasn’t the media done enough of with 9/11?” he asked out loud, savoring each word.
“I’ll tell you what they haven’t done,” he said. “They haven’t asked enough common people what they think.”
When reporters do talk to people, he added, they will hear anger. Frustration. Some patriotic pride. A little fear. And some wonderment at a media overwhelming people with their 24/7 coverage of the 9/11 anniversary.
Listening to “common folk” — and transporting them — is Franklin’s business. As a long-haul bus driver, he has spent the last 30 years ferrying people from one distant destination to another. And as he sat in this desert community outside Los Angeles, he was amidst his passengers dining at the combination truckers’ fuel stop, mini-market and fast food restaurant.
Franklin was driving the first leg of Greyhound’s Los Angeles-to-New York trip, and the 44 people now on board among his shifting clientele were typical of his usual mix of passengers. Most were nonwhite. A few were traveling with small children. A number spoke Spanish or another foreign language. Some carried their belongings in plastic grocery bags. Others lugged pillows and blankets — and anything else — to make their sleep more comfortable along a 3,079-mile route that would include stops in some 40 towns and cities in the coast-to-coast odyssey.
As Franklin was quick to point out, some passengers may be refugees from airport travel in the wake of 9/11, but others were simply on his bus for economic reasons including taking advantage of a $99 advance-purchase fare to travel to New York.
Elizabeth Brady, who boarded the bus in nearby Barstow, was one person who had opted to ride and save money. Along with her daughter and sister, she was on a two-day journey to Greenville, Miss., to help her father celebrate his 90th birthday. And it wasn’t the fear of flying or the approach of the Sept. 11 anniversary that placed her on the bus.
“The cost of a plane ticket was just too much,” she said.
Still, there is no mistaking the impact of a post-Sept. 11 world where air travel has dropped off and reluctant flyers are taking to the road.
A nationwide San Jose Mercury News poll, published Sunday, shows that 4 in 10 Americans believe flying has become an unsettling experience and 7 percent say they have quit flying all together.
What is a commonplace scene at airports — the ubiquitous security check of passengers — is now also conducted at bus stations, albeit in a less thorough and more cursory way. In Los Angeles, there was merely a limited inspection of carry-on luggage as people boarded.
But as Wednesday’s anniversary date approaches, what concerns some people is the media drumbeat and avalanche of retrospectives and tributes that they fear may engulf the memory of a profoundly tragic event.
“The media has just bombarded us with everything as that day nears,” said Brady, who is a counselor for children with special needs.
The anxiety level has been driven up as more Americans fear another attack. According to a recent poll by the New California Media and the University of Southern California, African-Americans in that state are most likely to be concerned about a terrorist attack in their community. That finding surprised Brady, a black woman.
The poll also says 2 out of 5 Latinos feel their lives are worse now than before Sept. 11. One-third of Asians and Middle Easterners say their lives are worse. And nearly 60 percent of Middle Easterners say they have experienced racial discrimination since Sept. 11.
John Aguilera said he has experienced that shift in attitude toward those who appear to be from the Middle East at his own Arizona high school and among his own friends. A 15-year-old sophomore, Aguilera says he has seen his friends turn against Arabs and Muslims and anyone resembling them, including a small minority at his school.
“They make racist comments. They stereotype,” he said of his friends. “I just stay away when they do or just ignore them when they do.”
Aguilera, who was traveling with his 13-year-old brother, Chris, were on the bus to complete their monthly trip between their father in California and their mother in Arizona. Asked if they have any fear of making that trip by plane, the younger teen immediately shook his head, but his older brother answered just as quickly. “A little,” he said, as his brother looked on in surprise.
That is a legacy of Sept. 11, John conceded, this lingering uncertainty and nagging about that it could happen again. And that possibility has affected his family, he said.
There also has been another change in the routine of the Aguilera family.
“Ever since 9/11, we watch the news every single day,” John said.
It’s a news habit that also consumes Colie Franklin. As the Greyhound bus pulled into Kingman, Arizona, his shift was nearing an end. It was almost a normal worker’s 9 to 5 day, except for the 379 miles Franklin had logged in between periods. Now, he headed for the SUPER 8 MOTEL and a night’s sleep before his return drive to Los Angeles. As usual, he would be up at dawn, and when he awakes he knows what he will do first.
“I’ll turn on the news,” he said. “I always do.”
