By: Joe Strupp Readers picking up the
Houston Chronicle Sept. 8 will have no trouble finding stories related to last year's Sept. 11 attacks. On that Sunday, 9/11 stories will hit the front pages of all seven sections, as well as the Sunday magazine, TV book, and entertainment tabloid. "We want to show how much it has affected our lives in every way, from travel to sports," said Managing Editor Tommy Miller. "The idea is to flow it through the paper."
The
Chronicle's anniversary plan is among the many approaches major newspapers are taking to mark the deadliest terrorist attacks on America: from special sections thick with photos to multipart series lasting several weeks. "We will look at how it affects families, the world-view, and government," said Keith Graham, deputy national editor of
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which, starting Sept. 1, will run five to 10 stories daily on the attacks.
The solemnity of the high-profile anniversary has not diminished competition among major papers, as editors at
The Boston Globe, the
Star Tribune in Minneapolis, and
The Denver Post declined to reveal their coverage plans for fear of tipping off crosstown rivals.
Globe Editor Martin Baron quipped: "Why would I want to tell everyone what we are planning?"
One of the most ambitious plans (according to an
E&P survey of the top 40 daily-circulation papers) comes from
Newsday in Melville, N.Y., which will publish in its Sept. 8 issue a 76-page glossy tab devoted solely to victims. The paper also will publish a 16-page wraparound Sept. 11.
Other New York papers are holding their plans close to the vest.
The Wall Street Journal will have subdued coverage, with Deputy Managing Editor Barney Calame promising "a few thoughtful stories." Editors at the New York
Daily News and
New York Post declined to reveal specific plans, citing competitive reasons. Howell Raines, executive editor of
The New York Times, told
E&P his paper would run a special section, but wouldn't say when or how many pages. The
Times also will publish two major articles in its Sept. 8 Sunday magazine, including a sure-to-be-influential proposal for replacing the Twin Towers, with input from a dream team of architects.
While deciding to expand coverage is not difficult, how to approach the sensitive aspects of the tragedy has sparked debate in most newsrooms, editors told
E&P. Finding a balance between the horrific events and future hopes is key for many newsroom leaders.
"We want fresh insight," said Joe Ames, projects editor at
The Orange County Register in Santa Ana, Calif. Douglas C. Clifton, editor of
The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, declared, "The tilt will be more forward-looking." Clifton plans a 12-page special section.
The choice of photos is under scrutiny. Clifton already has ruled out reprinting the now-famous shot of a man jumping to his death from a tower, which ran in the
PD Sept. 12. And
The San Diego Union-Tribune is considering keeping photos of the hijackers out of the paper. "I don't want to give them any sense of glory," said Assistant Metro Editor Karen Lin Clark.
Promoting the special coverage -- and soliciting advertising -- also is being done carefully. Some papers, such as
The Washington Post and the New York
Daily News, are limiting most of the advertising to memorial-related ads, while
The Dallas Morning News is planning to cut back or reduce promotions. "The sensitivity [to appearing to exploit the anniversary] is something we have been discussing for months," said
Morning News Deputy Managing Editor Walt Stallings.
Wire services have sent out lengthy story budgets of what will be available, which will not go beyond packages marking other extraordinary events.
Newspapers in many states will have to contend with another matter: primary elections on Sept. 10. Most editors in those states said the 9/11 stories would take precedence -- but not easily.
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