Should the 9/11 anniversary still be on the front page?

Very true, W_B.

I just drove home from work looking at the light blue beams rising from Ground Zero thourgh the cloud cover. Almost ran two red lights becuase I was just staring blankly at the sky while driving.

 

Yes. Each and every year until we win, then for a thousand years after that.

 

So why don't we put Pearl Harbor Day on the front every year?

 

I think it goes out front, at least until Bin Laden is caught or dies.

And there should be an accompanying story every year: Why hasn't Bin Laden been caught?

 

You're hired!

 

I suppose I should have made my question slightly clearer: For papers in the NY/DC areas, obviously, it goes in. My question was more regarding local commemorations in smaller towns/places farther away from NY/DC.

 

Yes. It directly is related to the our current ongoing massive national tragedy.

 

Yeah, looking at the Newseum's collection of front pages told me a few things:

1.) Some decent-size newspapers teased inside.

2.) A lot of papers that did put it on the cover produced the "half-hearted" coverage Desk Slave mentioned.

I have to say that while I agree something needed to be on the cover, if it's a story about people gathering in memory of the dead, or a family dealing with its grief, or a collection of your readers' memories, I'm not reading. Seen it already, every year since.

One thing the immediate aftermath of 9/11 really drove home was that people needed us. People responded to the onslaught of coverage by temporarily buying more newspapers. A lot of newspapers blew out the budget to increase news hole and pay overtime -- and more people bought it. They had an almost insatiable desire for NEWS and they had a strong need to feel CONNECTED, and they turned to us.

I've always been of the opinion that the news media best demonstrate patriotism by doing their jobs -- not taking the easy way out by producing the same story every year, but by doing tough, original reporting. Some papers did this. I find the apparent attitude that "anything's good enough, as long as we have something out there" kind of unintentionally offensive. Bravo to the news organizations that did more than the obvious. The news organizations that did the minimum out of either a sense of obligation or a fear of backlash if they kicked the crappy story inside -- well, why bother? I got no further than the headline.

 

It's difficult because there's no new angles. It'd be really nice if they caught the guy who did it. That would be a heckuva tribute.

 

Once again, Frank hammers the point home.

 

Tell me you haven't gotten that call ... and what do you say to that caller?

 

Oooh, what a great American. I think "we" should go fight the people who attacked us.
TV drives the bus and as long as TV makes the anniversary a show, then newspapers wil follow.