TV networks remember Sept 11
A year after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, television networks are planning wall-to-wall coverage of the first anniversary of the tragedy. Some will go dark for part of the day, and many will air programming without or with very limited commercial interruptions.
ABC:
Coverage begins at 7 a.m. with “Good Morning America,” covering the day’s memorials and events continuously until 5 p.m. After a break for local news, coverage will continue on “World News Tonight” and in primetime. Evening programming includes “Answering Children’s Questions,” an update of a special Peter Jennings hosted four days after the attacks; a reconstruction of how the government reacted to the attacks, reported by Charles Gibson; and interviews by Barbara Walters with families who lost relatives in the attacks.
CBS:
The network’s 13 hours of coverage begins with a special “Early Show” from Ground Zero, anchored by Dan Rather and Jane Clayson. Coverage will continue through the afternoon, leading up to expanded editions of the “CBS Evening News” and a half-hour special anchored by Rather following the newscast. In primetime, “60 Minutes II” will feature an exclusive interview with President Bush by correspondent Scott Pelley. CBS will also re-air the documentary “9/11.”
CNBC:
The financial network will devote most of today’s coverage to stories about how the attacks of a year ago impacted the economy and financial markets. Much of the coverage will originate from Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, N.J., across the Hudson River from Manhattan. Special segments include interviews with business leaders who lost employees and colleagues in the attacks, and how those companies are faring now.
CNN:
Coverage of the anniversary begins at 6 a.m. featuring live reports from Ground Zero, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa., where United Flight 93 crashed. Reports throughout the day will originate from Washington, Kabul and other sites. A special “Moneyline” at 6 p.m. will look at the impact of Sept. 11 on financial markets. Connie Chung and Aaron Brown will anchor prime-time coverage, which will be followed by a special “Larry King Live.”
FOX:
The network will air a two-hour live special called “9/11 – The Day America Changed” at 8 p.m. Brit Hume will anchor the program, which features reports from the Pentagon, the World Trade Center site and Shanksville, Pa. Bill O’Reilly will examine how American Muslims reacted to the attacks, and Carl Cameron will investigate how the plot was planned and carried out.
Fox News Channel:
The channel is commercial-free from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. as it incorporates the day’s events into its newscasts and regularly scheduled shows. Fox News plans to cover memorials at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and the Pennsylvania crash site; President Bush’s visit to New York; and candlelight vigils in the evening.
MSNBC:
The network will offer live coverage of anniversary events from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will simulcast NBC News’ live coverage from 4 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a 30-minute recap of the day’s events. Regular prime-time programs will focus on the heroes of Sept. 11 and the families of victims.
NBC:
Continuous coverage begins at 7 a.m. with a six-hour “Today,” followed in the afternoon by more news and a special Town Hall meeting moderated by Tom Brokaw. Between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., local stations will be able to break away for their own newscasts, while network coverage continues with a simulcast on
MSNBC:
After a one-hour “Nightly News,” the special “9/11: The President’s Team Remembers” will offer first-person accounts from Bush administration officials on their role in the aftermath of the attacks. “Dateline” at 8 p.m. will present a story on how the nation’s air traffic controllers cleared the skies. The night will be capped with a “Concert for America,” taped Sept. 9 in Washington, that will feature performances by artists ranging from the National Symphony Orchestra to country star Alan Jackson.
UPN:
UPN will stick with regular programming today. During prime time, however, the network will air “Portraits of Courage,” a series of 60-second profiles of five young people who helped save lives and comfort victims and rescue workers in the aftermath of the attacks.
The WB:
The Frog, which has no news division, plans to offer alternative programming for families in the form of the movie My Dog Skip.
Other Cable Networks:
Cable channels owned by Scripps (Food Network, HGTV, Fine Living and DIY) will go dark for two hours beginning at 8:30 a.m. Similarly, the A&E Television Networks (A&E, the History Channel, the Biography Channel and History International) will go dark at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane hit the Twin Towers, and scroll the names of victims until 10:29 a.m., when United Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.
At 9 p.m., the History Channel will air “World Trade Center: Rise and Fall of an American Icon,” a special that examines what the Twin Towers meant to New York and the world.
All the channels in the Discovery Networks family will be commercial-free on the 11th. Anniversary-related programming in the days leading up to Sept. 11 will also run without ads.
Several specials, under the heading “Faces of 9.11,” will air during primetime. Among them, the Discovery Channel will air “Portraits of Grief,” based on the New York Times series and featuring remembrances of those who died in the attacks, at 8 p.m. Also at 8 p.m., TLC will show “110 Stories,” which combines images from the September 11 Photo Project with eyewitness accounts. “World Trade Center: Triumph and Tragedy,” airing at 10 p.m. on the Travel Channel, looks at the historical and symbolic impact the Twin Towers had on New York.
HBO will re-air the documentary “In Memoriam: New York City” at 8 p.m.
ESPN and ESPN2 will have live coverage of at least four major league baseball games.
BBC America will offer commercial-free live coverage from BBC World News of memorials and other events from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. In primetime, the channel will air “The Last Night of the Proms 2001,” a performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra that features a tribute to the victims of Sept. 11.
MTV has several specials planned, including “TRL: We Remember” (3:30 and 10 p.m.) in which artists and fans discuss the effects Sept. 11 have had on them. The channel will also re-air its news special “Pop Culture Post-9/11,” examining the impact of the tragedy on entertainment. Blocks of music videos during the day will include video remembrances from viewers.
VH1 will rebroadcast last fall’s “Concert for New York,” featuring Paul McCartney, Macy Gray, Bon Jovi, India.Arie and many others, at 7p.m. and 10 p.m.
