Gordon
Hickey Projects Editor |
| We started planning for
our 9/11 coverage in May. We had a large meeting of editors, reporters,
photographers and artists to brainstorm ideas. We had several other planning
meetings and updates over the next several weeks. We came to an understanding
fairly early that we didn't want to do what we did for the six-month issue
-- a wrap around the front page -- and we didn't feel the need to bury our
readers in newsprint. We also knew there would be no shortage of national
news. Because the Pentagon is in our territory, we knew we would concentrate much of our anniversary coverage on what's going on there. We also had a number of Virginia residents killed in the attacks, and we wanted to give them their due. One of our reporters, Michael Martz, had been cultivating a close relationship with the family of Anna Allison, a woman killed on one of the planes that hit the WTC. He wanted to write a long, magazine-style piece on Anna and her family. We also decided we wanted to concentrate on ordinary people. We wanted to report on where they were when they heard of the attacks and how their lives have been affected. Finally, we wanted plenty of photography. We solicited calls and
e-mails from people who would be willing to talk to us about their experiences.
We heard from about two dozen people, and narrowed our list of interviews
to 17. Those stories were the centerpiece of our coverage on 9/11. We
used the other coverage as daily stories leading up to the date. |
Tom
Bond Art Director |
| Choosing an image for
page one was a challenge. Our Presentation Editor, Paul Whelan, felt sure
the dominant image should not be the horrid scenes we've already seen over
and over. Paul found an AP photograph of the towers taken in 2000 with skies
reminiscent of that beautiful morning on Sept. 11. Contrasting that tranquil
setting are a few tragic scenes inset in the larger photo.
Our 911 logo fit perfectly with that lead image on the front. The logo visually represents the event that plagues our minds like a bad dream, faint at times but always there. We figured the anniversary remembrance would certainly be a time for looking back but more importantly about how individuals and our nation were moving forward, too. |
| Monica
Moses Visual Journalism Faculty The Poynter Institute |
| This page is simple,
bold and well-organized. At the top of the centerpiece are quick, small
glimpses of last year's tragedy, free of cutlines. The main image recalls
what a beautiful morning Sept. 11, 2001, was, before the planes hit the
towers. I might wish for the lead headline and image to be more in synch,
since the headline refers to life after the tragedy. I also might prefer
that the bookend stories look less separate from the centerpiece. Ideally,
the promos at the bottom of the page would fit on the same grid at the
stories above, reducing visual distraction. Still, the vertical sweep
of this page makes it a strong statement. |