Blogs » Crowdsourcing » Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001?

Subscribe


 
Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001?
By GabeSemenza in Crowdsourcing
September 4, 2008

We had an interesting discussion during a newsroom meeting today about publishing stories on the anniversary of tragedies such as Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11.

One editor thought publishing such stories year after year becomes predictable and thus uninteresting to readers. What else can you say about the same tragedy?

Another editor said tragedies need to be remembered, reported about on their anniversary and learned from. How would you feel if you'd lived through Pearl Harbor and the press forgot to mention that tragic December day in your hometown newspaper?

Most seemed to agree on one thing: Maybe it's best on a tragedy's anniversary to give readers something new to read, to learn from and to remember the tragedy by.

With the anniversary of Sept. 11 nearing, one idea shared was to simply ask a number of local and area residents about where they were on that tragic day. Another idea was to find a new angle -- somebody local with an interesting, informative tie to the tragedy -- to publish.

That said: Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001? Do you have a tie to the tragedy that those in the Crossroads have never read about and thus have never learned from?

You may feel the urge to criticize the press for rehashing tragedy for profit's sake, a claim many often make. Before you do, I hope you'll offer memories and stories that we all can learn from.

Those who die in such tragedies deserve that from us.

Thanks for your help,

Gabe Semenza, Advocate public service editor