Radio Killed the Video Star
September 12th, 2002One year ago yesterday:
The then roommate and I (now blissfully wedded) were driving to our morning ritual of physical exercise. We, being former Liberal Arts majors, enjoyed the NPR program, Morning Edition on our 20 minute drive. As we are pulling away from our domicile, we were informed that a plane had hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York. We listened intently and were informed that another plane had struck the other tower. It was at this point that our media experience diverged drastically from those witnessing the events on live television.
The announcer posed the question that since the odds of two planes striking these two buildings was so astronomically high, could there be a navigational problem? Terrorism was brought up, but only as one of several possibilities.
Getting out of the car, we performed the workout, anger towards the always irresponsible media filling my head. How could they make the leap so quickly that it was terrorists? Sure, the buildings had been attacked before, but it took more than 30 seconds for terrorism to be brought up.
Following the workout, we drove the 30 minutes (LA traffic had thickened to it’s usual 7 a.m ish sludge) home. During the drive, we were informed that a plane may have hit the Pentagon and that one of the towers of the World Trade Center had collapsed. I looked over at Heather in horror: “What in the hell is going on?”
It is at this point I realized that my mother was flying back from her once-in-a-lifetime trip to England. “My mother is in the air today.”
Heather was quiet at first and then consoling.
At this point, we had seen none of the video, heard no screams, seen no chaos. It was all an image in our heads. This image, created by radio and our own imaginations, couldn’t come close to the horror we saw on television.
We dashed upstairs to turn on CNN. We watched the replays. I was a complete mess, wondering if my mother was on one of the planes that had crashed. I didn’t know her itinerary and was trying to tell myself that the odds of her being on one of the planes was small and I should not be freaking out. That conversation with myself was a difficult one.
Heather got ready for work and I sat transfixed, in a state of complete limbo for 2 hours, staring at the television. Heather left for work and returned at noon. Only six people had shown up in her office. My oldest brother called me at 11 am, to inform me that my mother had called him from a cell phone. She was on a plane that had been redirected to Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can see and read about what Halifax went through here. Look in the sidebar at the right for the link “Halifax, Canada, opens its doors to stranded passengers”.
It wasn’t until I watched this video that I fully understood what my mother went through on that day. My mother returned home the following Saturday, having been put up by some very kind Canadians. She has not flown on a plane since.
So you’re probably wondering about the radio/TV thing… In the 1960 U.S. presidential race, there was a debate of JFK versus Richard Nixon. Those who heard the debate on the radio thought that Nixon won the debate. Those who watched it on television thought JFK won, based on Nixon’s refusal to wear makeup and the buckets of sweat coming off his head. That JFK was a hotty didn’t hurt, either.
I think my experience with this catastrophic event was made wholly different by the media contact I had. Radio changed the event from violent shock to a more measured, quiet approach that still painted a terrible picture, but didn’t have the cathartic, dulling effect of watching the planes strike the towers again and again and again. Had I seen that second tower being hit live, and realizing that my mother could have been on that plane… My quiet mania wouldn’t have been so quiet. o
I understand what you are trying to get at. Being in Australia, we were channel hopping and came across the odd image of smoke coming out of one of the towers. This was on our government funded channel, which is kind of like PBS, except they aren’t always begging for cash (more like the BBC in Great Britain).
So, it was a more conservative commentary than was going on the other channels which generated a much more reasonable response from me and my partner(american).
Good that your Mum’s fine, though not so good that she hasn’t flown since.
Congrats on the eloperation. (My beloved and I are running away to Sweden for our nuptials. Less hassle)
We were in the wilds of Utah on that fateful morning. We did not hear of attacks until the following afternoon when we came off of the river. Our commentary comprised of a really freaked-out river guide’s announcement and a soggy day-old Moab paper with some of the articles illegible or missing altogether. It wasn’t until that night did we see anything on the tele for the first time. As a result, I don’t respond much to the question “where were you when…”. For the last year, I have always felt removed from that day, the incident, and even the aftermath. And sometimes, but not always, I’m real glad of that. It doesn’t surprise me that your ma was safe and sound that day. She’s a great woman and will probably outlive us all.
At the time I worked in PR/PA for a large insurance company, so we were in front of the TV all day. I do not watch a lot of TV anyway, so it was very scary, disturbing, and draining.
I did not watch any coverage this year. But then again, September 11th is also my birthday, and there was a part of me that(and surprisingly, everyone I know vehemently told me the same thing) told myself to *try* and have a nice day, as it always was and always will be my birthday. I do not need to watch TV to silently mourn those who have passed. Fortunately I have a husband and good friends who made it one of the most wonderful days of my life.
I am glad to hear your mom is OK. My friends long-distance love worked in one of the towers, and by some small miracle he did not set his alarm the night before and was still at home when he should have been at work. My husband also has family friends who live downtown, but they were out of town. I hope your mom flies again soon. I did this year, and yes I was a little nervous, but we must get on with our lives. We cannot live in fear.
I’m in NJ, and since NY is our neighbor it really felt like it happened right here at home. I didn’t feel like I was more than 100 miles away. I often wanted to go there during the first few weeks because I felt I needed to DO something rather than keep watching the media go over the same images repeatedly. This year, I decided that I would not watch ANY television on that day because I remember every detail. I will NEVER forget. One of my best friends went to work in one of those buildings at that same time every day for three years. She moved to California a year before the attacks. It was the first time I was glad that she moved so far away. I’m really glad to hear your mom was safe. Mentally you start to take inventory of the ones you love and count your blessings during a tragedy. I’m still counting mine one year later and I’ve never stopped thinking that it could have been any one of us, anywhere.
Like you two, I heard the Sept. 11 news from NPR only because it never occurred to me to turn the T.V. on! I had lived my whole adult life without ever owning a T.V., until January 2001 when I purchased one from a co-worker who was moving to another coast and didn’t want to move his T.V. Instead, I have been a dedicated public radio listener since the early 1970’s. I still hadn’t developed the habit of using that old T.V. by September 11th, so it never occurred to me to turn it on. I was awakened by my clock radio in Tucson, AZ tuned to NPR, to hear live coverage about the Pentagon and the WTC. Ever since, I have avoided excessive exposure to television images of those events. It is clear to me that the television industry uses those images not to inform the public, but to sensationalize the events and manipulate emotions of the viewers.