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
- Title is America’s New War
- One woman suggests having a defense system within cockpit of planes
- Another man suggested recruiting law enforcement on planes
- Good weather encourages rescue workers
- 100 confirmed ded, 4900 missing
- New York and Washington finally ready to return to work
- Bush urges Americans to return to work
- He also says crusade will take some time; Justice will be served
- Empire state building lit in red white and blue
- Osama claims he is not involved
- Osama’s plea is read. He states he is in Afghanistan
- Pakistan has three days to deal with Osama
- Bush states you are against or with us. Any harboring of terrorist means you are no better than them
- News reel at bottom of the screen relates to the terrorist attack
- Bush is looking for allies
- Analyst claims Osama may not even been involved.
- This attack went against the Taliban movement
- Bin Laden may have considered us enemies for “soiling the holy land”
The main similarities between the Canadian and American news stations on the day of the terrorist attack were the different angles of the shots they used. Both of them focused mainly on the giant gash in the buildings. All of the news anchors at the two stations remained relatively emotionless or calm while the first building was billowing with smoke. The estimate of the floors hit were roughly the same (between floors 80 and 85). Fear and empathy did not seem to enter their voices until the second planes truck the second tower. Both stations mentioned an attempted terrorist attack a few years before in the parking garage below the towers. I would imagine the news stations would have reacted the same way if I continued to watch while the plane hit the Pentagon.
Some of the differences between the two channels during the attack include the camera quality. The Canadian channel seemed to have better quality. The Texan channel and its interviewers seemed to know that it was a giant commercial plane from the beginning. The Canadian channel assumed it was probably a small propeller plane. (Possibly because there are many privately owned planes in Canada?) The Texan channel also mentioned the top observation deck. Not only were there workers in danger, but there were also tourists visiting the towers that were in danger at the incident. Another thing that the American station mentioned was that the attack was during the morning rush hour. The first witness of the Canadian station seemed to show confusion, where as the witness for the American station was frantic.
The next week was quite different for the American and British stations. However, they did have some similarities. The estimated number of dead or missing people is around 5000 people. Both stations mentioned Bush’s “crusade” to bring the suicidal taliban to justice.
There was a sharp contrast between the two stations. The British station reported the hard facts about the attack while the American station seemed to take a more analytic approach to presenting their information. The portion of Bush’s speech that the British channel broadcast seemed to portray Bush as a cop who was looking for those who committed the crime. In the portion the American station aired, it seemed more motivational to the American people.