NBC at 9:00 on 9/11:
The news anchors did not have a lot of information, but they were reporting with a live video feed of the twin towers. They interviewed a few witnesses on the phone lines, all seemed shaken by the attack. The reporters, however, kept a calm, but serious demeanor. They wondered whether it was an air traffic accident or something related or similar to the terrorist bomb plot in 1990. Once the second plane hit, the whole production room was shocked, as well as the witnesses on the phone lines. The graphics were horrifying in themselves, and nobody knew what to think of the situation. The only visual on the television screen was the live feed from the twin towers that occasionally zoomed in on the explosions. As the anchors realize the plane was in fact, a large 737, it becomes clear that it is not an accident. The feed goes in and out and there is a sense of chaos in the newsroom.

NBC at 9:00 on 9/17:
The anchors now have a solemn expression on their faces as they reflect on the tragedy. There are many prepared segments about the civilians lives returning to normalcy, including the reopening of the stock exchange, as well as the ferry that takes commuters to their office. These segments show many closeups on faces, displaying the mixed emotions the people are feeling, and videos of the smog that is still hovering above the city. The anchors also mention the heroes of 9/11 who sacrificed their lives. In huge contrast to the broadcast from the day of, this broadcast was a planned program of a series of taped segments. It was more emotionally charged than the technical speech of the anchors from 9/11, and it reflected the bitter aftermath of the national tragedy, especially for those who work and live in New York.

CCTV (China Central TV) at 1:00 PM on 9/11:
The station first played a clip from CNN of one of the towers collapsing, and the chaos that followed. The news anchor then explained what happened, including more footage of a plane flying into the towers. Most of the clips were of the towers smoking and collapsing, with some clips of people on the ground and police men directing citizens in the street. The news anchor kept a very technical tone, stating fact after fact. She then proceeds to summarize the reactions of other countries after the attack, including England, France, and Afghanistan — where the government said they did not know of the attack and had nothing to do with it. The broadcast then begins to analyze the two towers, saying how they were the tallest in the area, and the material of the buildings.

CCTV (China Central TV) at 1:10 PM on 9/17:
On the following Monday, the station has similarly prepared a series of taped segments. In the morning hours, the archive showed this channel with a Chinese speaking anchor, however, around 1:00 PM, the station switched to an English speaking anchor who then talked about 9/11. The anchor mentioned that the stock exchange was reopening, displaying a clip of the “emotionally charged” opening ring by policeman and fire department workers . He then described that the routine was returning to normal, people were encouraged to go back to work, but there were minor changes in security. He also mentioned that Asian shares experienced sharp drops at the stock exchange. CCTV also showed a video of President Bush and the first lady returning from Camp David and talking to the press. President Bush mentioned that what people witnessed on 9/11 was “evil” and a “big mistake” and promised that the US will fight back.

Both channels had similar structure in terms of coverage on the day of and the Monday after. The NBC news anchors were serious and calm until the second plane hit, which then brought on shock and confusion. The Chinese channel broadcasted the attack a few hours after it happened, and the news anchor had a matter of fact tone with no emotions. The Chinese cable focused a lot on the collapse of the tower, while NBCs live coverage at 9:00 showed only until a while after the second tower was hit, and before it collapsed. Both channels mainly played the same videos repeatedly. On Monday, September 17, the coverage was more organized. NBC played programs about 9/11 all day, with many pre-taped segments about heroes, hospitals, interviews with witnesses, etc. CCTV also had a few pre-taped segments, but the coverage was about 10-15 minutes. While NBC covered many poignant stories of individuals, CCTV gave a more general coverage, less emotionally charged. After 9/11, most channels in the US covered the attack most hours of the day. On NBC, there were many tributes, programs devoted to ground zero, and personal stories. The US channels focused more on stories, and the emotional side of the tragedy while foreign nations seemed to focus more on reactions from the US and from other countries.

Tuesday, September 11th

BBC (London) – 9:40am

The first thing the man being interviewed mentions is a “declaration of war”. The news anchor repeats President Bush’s comment about hunting down those responsible. The man also mentions governments that may be harboring terrorists and how that will make them “very vulnerable” to possible action against them. This coverage focuses more on a possible U.S. retaliation rather than helping the victims. The tone doesn’t sound like it’s a tragedy at all and the news anchor speaks about the situation very calmly.  I did notice that the camera angle does not move or shift at all: this may be an effort to have the viewer focus on what the man being interviewed is saying. The station also does a playback of the second plane hitting the twin towers and its subsequent fireball.

TCN (Texas) – 9:40am

This report is very different from the BBC coverage. The news anchor is only mentioning details. She is talking about the aircraft, where they all departed from, and also briefly mentions the 1990′s Muslim bombing of the same location. This report differs from the BBC report mainly by what it intends to put in the viewers head. The BBC coverage puts forth ideas of retaliation which lead the people watching to have their eyes on the country as a whole. The TCN coverage gives out as much detail as it can which allows viewers to draw their own conclusions and think about what may happen next. This anchor also sounds more concerned. She doesn’t mention anything about President Bush or America’s response but she does focus entirely on “victims, casualties, and rescue efforts”. The camera angle shows both towers burning.

Monday, September 17th

CBC (Ottawa) – 5:20pm

This network is very similar to BBC in how it is only really focusing on the reaction of the U.S. The man being interviewed has a concerned tone (less emotionally concerned, more political) and begins speaking about the U.N. and how as policymakers they must act to be a part of the battle against terrorism. He also mentions terrorists using Canada as a safe haven and an “aircraft carrier for the Jihad”. Another government representative comes into the camera and begins being interviewed. He quotes a U.S. military official and says “not to react would be to give a free hand to these people but to react in the wrong way would create a new set of martyrs and problems”.

FOX (Washington, DC) – 5:20pm

This network is focusing on the families of the victims and is talking about the local area residents who are affected by the attacks. The news reporter speaks in a respectful tone that matches the camera angles being used. The focus of the camera is on the family of the victims and their memorial services. At the bottom of the screen the caption sends updates about anti-Islamic, Muslim, and Arabic attacks.

From September 11th to September 17th, the tone of domestic news channels changed more than the foreign ones did. In the beginning, channels such as BBC and CBC focused on the U.S. response to terrorists. There were less changes in the camera angle (this may have been to make the viewer focus on what was being said). In contrast, the domestic stations were very different. One thing I noticed is that a few stations began showing “UNDER ATTACK” rather than “BREAKING NEWS” (one of them was GLVSN, a Latin broadcaster in New York). To viewers, the two phrases could really change the message coming from the news stations from “let’s provide important less biased information” (breaking news) to “let’s instill fear or arouse emotions” (under attack). This observation parallels the other things I noticed while watching the clips. Non-American stations generally reported information about how their country would aid the United States in the fight against terrorists. They also put more importance on the future U.S. reaction rather than the (then) current terrorist situation. The American stations focused on facts solely on facts surrounding the confusion. As the day progressed, the reporters grew even more emotional and concerned in comparison to their non-American counterparts. They also interviewed normal eyewitnesses that experienced the destruction. Foreign reporters interviewed their elected officials and terrorism experts.

The first part is almost like the notes I took while I watched the videos. 

9/11:

8:55-9:15 a.m.

Ottawa, Canada NEWSW(CBC):

• News reporter is quite calm in the beginning.
• Live quality is mediocre
• Plane seemed to fly with some distress according to witness.
• Crashed between the 80th and 85th floor
• Some didn’t know if commercial or personal plan.
• Some say plane is embedded into building.
• Journalist asking eye witnesses seems to be calm as well.
• First female witness says explosion happened inside
• The stations transmitter is on top of world trade center
• 2nd female witness saw plane fly into building as it happened.
• She says the plane appeared to be a big passenger plane
• It was  clear day
• A purposeful attempt at a collision was made
• Female news anchor does seem to sound a bit concerned after some time
• Anchors try to piece together incident as a possible accident. Anything from engine to hydraulic failure could cause the accident.
• Wind speeds impeded police helicopters
• Plane was probably twin engine
• Picture shows smoke billowing up and over tower
• Camera focuses on the hole made by the plane
• One witness says the plane was banking hard. Witness was across the hudson in Hoboken, NJ
• Witness saide it was unsure if it was purposeful.
• Banked at probably 45 degrees. Possible 727
• Debris flew other side of building
• Large explosion upon collision

After 2nd plane hits:

• Whole news station seems to be shocked at the 2nd crash
• Purposeful means become appearant
• Anchors seem to be horrified
• People run horrified from the 2nd tower
• Anchor comments on how tough it is to view the sight
• Some people claimed it was a missile that hit

Austin, TX, USA TCN (TXCN):

• Female reporter seems to be calm
• The camera seems to be more shaky than Canadian channel
• Seem to think it is either Boeing or 737
• Receives transmission from abc
• Gives more detail of location of trade center
• Mentions time where people travel to work
• Mentions observation center
• Mentions previous terrorist bomb in garage years ago
• Mentions how debris flew out the other side
• Hole believed to be at least 5 or 7 stories wide
• More shock as second plane hits than the Canadian station
• Some think fuselage exploded within building
• Witness panics while anchors remain calm
• 2nd witness thinks propeller plane came in from the west
• Some think there was a navigating error

9/17:

1:00-1:10 am (6:00-6:10am BST)

London, England BBC (BBC World):

• Starts off news broadcast with reports of twin tower damage
• 5000 people dead or missing
• President Bush swears vengence
• Pakistan urges taliban to hand over osama
• Stock exchange finally re-opens
• News anchors seem to be much more clam
• Anchor seems calm as she reports President Bush is declaring war
• Bush calls terrorists evildoers
• Some workers were cheered
• Words like “gritty” and “grimy” were used to describe workers
• Pope at St. Paul’s cathedral in New York describes terrorists as faceless
• Describes fallen towers as a scar in New York’s famous skyline; a hole in the famous smile of manhattan
• Fears of economy force companies to lay off workers
• A worker up on a higher floor is interviewed. He seems to be a bit upset
• Bush asks for more power and for a sanction to be lifted on military assassinations abroad
• Those who went to pray were urged not to seek vengence
• Some stood in silence across the British country
• Americans are urged to brace for a long crusade
• Shrine to188 people killed in Pentagon attack
• A Soldier is reported to be ready for battle
• the female reporter gave the camera a “glare” as she reported that Pakistan could hand over Osama bin Laden and avoid war
• Afghan civilians fear US may retaliate
• Pakistani land occupied by US soldiers may result in conflict
• Some civilians in Pakistan left cities for the countryside

Benjy Cannon is a sophomore Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is the president of J Street UMD, as well as the chair of J Street U DC/Southeast region. He is an employee at the Computer and Communications Industry Association and a Community Engagement Intern at the University of Maryland Hillel.

Benjy was born in Oxford, England to an Orthodox Jewish family on February 27th, 1993. His parents were teachers at a Jewish boarding school there. In 1995, Benjy’s father, Jonathan, received an offer to head up the Carmel school in Hong Kong, China. In 2001, Benjy and his family moved to Potomac, Maryland, where he attended the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. During his time there, he was captain of the Mock trial team, president of a student group, which discussed the Arab-Israeli conflict from an Israeli and Palestinian perspective, and the co-founder of a blog, Table Talk, with a similar mission.

Sara Royle was born on March 3rd 1993 to David and Rosa Royle. She has an older sister, Amy Royle, of three years. Sara often visits Guatemala to visit her extended family. She is currently studying Fire Protection Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. One of her favorite hobbies is playing music. Sara began learning the violin at the age of nine and was involved in several youth orchestras throughout her middle school and high school years.

Digital elements to include:

• A picture of me
• A picture of my Dad, Mom, and sister
• A picture of my family and I in Guatemala
• A video of me playing the violin
• A picture of my Potomac Valley Youth Orchestra plaque

Katharine “Kat” Paige Averell was born on May 26, 1993 in Newark , DE to John and Tamara Averell. She moved to Elkton, MD at the age of two and spent the remainder of her childhood there. She attended Elkton High School and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Maryland, College Park. She enjoys literature, yoga, and well-written TV shows.

Added Digital Objects:

• The blurb would be accompanied by a recent picture of me.
• “Newark, DE” would link to a map with important locations on it (i.e. Newark, Elkton, and College Park).
• “Elkton High School” would link to a picture of me playing field hockey from my high school days.
• “University of Maryland” would link to the school’s website.
• “well-written TV shows” would link to a page where one could buy the complete Firefly series on DVD on Amazon.

CNN from 8:50 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on Sept. 11 and Sept. 17
On Sept. 11 at 8:50 a.m., the hijackers had just flew a plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center minutes ago. No one had time to react; no one knew what happened. Therefore, CNN’s coverage of the situation at that time was rather vague and repetitive. The only image shown on television was the World Trade Center with smoke billowing out from where the plane hit, and the anchor and reporter kept repeating the same line: A passenger jet crashed into the World Trade Center. Since journalists could not enter the area, they held little information regarding the incident. They didn’t even know which tower the plane had hit, nor if there were any casualties. However, they tried to make up for the lack of information by interviewing witnesses in New York City, asking the people what they saw and felt. Connection failed during one of the interviews, but overall, the witnesses’ words helped give those watching the television a better sense of what was going on. Six days later, Americans knew the complete story, and thus CNN’s focus changed from piecing up the actual situation to analyzing the aftermath: whether there would be a war or not. At 8:50 a.m., CNN presented questions to the viewers and discussed the questions in depth with professionals. Backgrounds during the interviews included the White House and places near the World Trade Center; natural sounds during the interviews included the ambulance siren and people consoling each other. Before 9 a.m., CNN showed a text on the screen with an image of the American flag in the background, saying “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and families of this tragedy.” I thought the words were very powerful.

NHK (Tokyo) from 9 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. on Sept. 11 and Sept. 17
I don’t understand Japanese, but digital images shown by NHK shared similarities with the images on CNN. On Sept. 11, NHK started reporting the news a bit later than CNN. However, the reporter was on a helicopter in New York City, so while the video only contained the World Trade Center, the reporter managed to move around and zoom in and out, capturing different angles of the twin towers. He captured the moment when another plane crashed into the towers, as well as the explosion and the debris falling from the building. At the same time on Sept. 17, NHK stopped showing pictures of New York City, and instead focused those who were behind this terrorist attack. They shot tanks and soldiers in Iraq, and revealed an image of Osama bin Laden. In the end, the news anchors presented a map of the Middle East to the audience. I assume they were speculating possible consequences of this attack.

–

Both stations offered additional perspectives to the incident as time passed. They did so with more diverse texts, graphics and broadcast. Such use of digital technology to document Sept. 11 proves the point made in the article “September 11: A story told in pixels,” that the event demonstrates how the media spread news rapidly and how photographic skills become a common way to tell stories.

Edward “Ej” Waddill Jr (5/14/1993) was born to Patricia and Edward (picture of my parents or a family photo) in Prince George’s county, Maryland .  He grew up developing a keen interest for developing music (link to page with some compositions) while taking part in many community service activities with his friends (link to my digital album containing my election season photographs). In his college years, Edward studied business on a full academic scholarship (hyperlink to University of Maryland homepage). Being is always looking for a good laugh(embedded video showing his freshman “running out of diner points” recording).

-chronological order that overlaps pictures/significant life events with the compositions made at that time. This may allow people to see see any relation between the music and the events (or how one impacts another)

-collection of twitter updates and Facebook statuses that also parallel the time structure. This would help people going through the archive to get a sense of what my personailty is like.

Gregory John Baroni Jr. is an aspiring college student pursuing a doctorate in Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. He is interested in designing new methods of propulsion designed to revolutionize commercial air travel; they would allow aircraft to safely reach hypersonic speeds while carrying passenger cargo. Greg is a loyal family man who enjoys a variety of outdoor activities such as football and indoor hobbies such as building Legos, creative writing, and playing video games on Xbox Live. He is a fan of the New York Giants and Yankees.

Important Items I would include in an archive of my life:

Picture of my sunglasses - My Oakley shades have been my trademark of sorts ever since I first got them prior to my senior year of high school. They represent my fondness of the future of design and a

Hero Collage - An embedded image that serves as a collage of all the heroes in my life. Sources of positive influence in my life would be featured in the photo, ranging from my mother and father to my puppy, Lily, and Optimus Prime.

Superbowl XLVI - Embedded video streaming the entire re-broadcast of the game. As a sports fan, it is one of the greatest feelings in the world to see your team make it to the top. However, watching it in person pushed that to an almost surreal level. Being at Superbowl XLVI was one of the most prominent moments in my life, and one that should definitely be featured in an archive of my life.

Picture of my first Car - 2002 Cadillac Deville. All black. Oh Yeah. All kidding aside, I had many a great and sad memory with my first car and will always remember all the fun I had while in it, even though the thing has about the same turning radius as the space shuttle Discovery.

My name is Emil Evans and I am the son of Huemiller and Deborah Evans. I grew up in Baltimore, MD. One thing that I can proudly say is that I love the city of Baltimore despite what others may have to say about it. In the Evans family, education is valued greatly. I am proud to say that throughout my school career I have remained on either Honor Roll or the Principal’s list. (That of course stopped in my freshman year of college) Helping others is one of my great passions. Any of my friends will tell you that I am always willing to go out mod my way to help someone in need.

If I could put anything in my own personal digital archive, I would include:

• A digitized version of my Pokemon card collection from my early years
• A copy of my acceptance letter into the Clark School of engineering
• A copy of my high school transcripts
• A picture of my parents
• A copy of my paycheck last year where I earned exactly $100.00 with the necessary information blanked out)