Sept. 11 Seen As Top Story Worldwide

By: G.G. LaBelle, Associated Press Writer (AP) Overwhelmingly journalists around the world chose the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States and the ensuing war on terrorism as the top news story of 2001, according to a survey by The Associated Press.

The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon had immediately been judged an overwhelming story. "Apocalypse" was the headline in Britain's Daily Mail of the following day, the major Spanish daily El Pais put out a special edition, and the world's broadcasters covered the tragedy minute by minute.

The attacks also directly touched people around the world; expatriates and immigrants from at least 26 countries were among the nearly 3,000 World Trade Center victims. In Bangladesh, phones in newspaper offices were jammed the day after as people tried to learn the fate of the 250,000 Bangladeshis working in the New York metropolitan area.

In the survey of 75 newspaper and broadcast subscribers to the AP in 24 countries, the journalists chose a related story, the anthrax scare, as second among the year's top 10 stories. Third -- and separated by just 1 percentage point from No. 2 -- was the renewed violence between Palestinians and Israelis.

All but four of the 75 who replied to the survey chose the attacks-war on terrorism as the top story. Those naming other events did so mainly on the basis of regional importance -- Yugoslav editors seeing the arrest of former President Slobodan Milosevic as the top story. His arrest placed No. 5 in the overall survey.

The lack of dissent in naming the top story of 2001 can be seen by contrasting the same poll in 2000. That year, the extended U.S. election battle between George W. Bush and Al Gore was picked as No. 1, but the stories named were so varied that the election was listed as the top story by only 20 of the 50 journalists surveyed.

The top 10 stories of 2001 were:

1. Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and subsequent war on terrorism.

2. Anthrax scare.

3. Middle East violence.

4. George W. Bush takes office as U.S. president (American politics).

5. Milosovich arrested, taken to The Hague.

6. World economy weakens.

7. Europe hit by Mad Cow and Foot and Mouth diseases.

8. Rising power of the European Union, introduction of common currency.

9. China admitted to World Trade Organization.

10. A statistical tie: Unrest at G-8 summit and massacre of Nepalese royal family.