It was 7:53 a.m. Tuesday when the Associated Press transmitted the bulletin: “Plane crashes into World Trade Center, according to television reports.”
Terry Sauer, who oversees news stories that have front-page potential, heard the news en route to work.
When Sauer got to his desk, national editor Dennis McGrath was nearby. Within a few words they began looking for reporters. Rosalind Bentley walked by and was dispatched to the airport with photographer Rick Sennott. Agriculture reporter Joy Powell went to the Federal building.
Sensing the tragedy’s enormity, Sauer phoned Jim Younger, who allocates news columns, to request extra space.
By 9 a.m. Editor Tim McGuire had assembled all staffers in the newsroom. Many were Variety section personnel who work early shifts.
McGuire asked what had been done so far and what else needed doing.
Reporter Warren Wolfe said a reporter should go to the Mall of America. McGuire told him to take off. Jon Tevlin left for the IDS Center. Someone said Eric Wieffering of the business staff was en route to the airport. Photographer Bruce Bisping went to join him.
McGrath contacted the Washington bureau and Sauer talked to Joe Kimball in the St. Paul bureau.
By 9:20 McGuire and key editors, including assistant managing editors Roger Buoen and Scott Gillespie, joined by Publisher Keith Moyer, discussed the potential for an Extra edition.
Sauer returned to his desk and a few minutes later McGuire came over to say an Extra would be published with a 1 p.m. press deadline.
The challenge: In 2 hours a 14-page section with local and wire service stories would be copy edited, headlines written, local and wire service photos processed, and page layouts prepared.
The press run was 110,000 copies. Thirty-five newspaper fleet drivers got the papers to their destinations quickly. St. Paul retailers had 6,000 copies remaining Tuesday night, but only 1,400 by Thursday.
With the Extra on the press, the newsroom tempo quickened. McGuire, with the publisher’s blessing, opted for a 26-page “special report” section for Wednesday.
Normally, that would have crunched the flow of the editing process. But the shutdown of stock exchanges and sporting events freed business and sports copy editors to help.
The 26-page section demanded an orderly flow. Otherwise, a bunching of pages near the press deadline surely would result in late delivery.
At 5:10 p.m. night supervisor Jim Durkin; assistant managing editor-production Paul Klauda; Steve Rice, the director of photography, and senior editor Steve Ronald met to plan the sequence of pages.
It worked. Both the state and metro editions reached the plant 10 minutes early.
At 5:30 p.m. McGuire convened about 75 staffers to deliver the shortest keynote speech I’ve heard. “I want to capture history,” he said.
A front-page mock-up from assistant graphics director Greg Branson was posted, and McGuire and Rice joined in a discussion about photo selection. McGuire signaled he was not there to micromanage. He respected the staff’s know-how. It was the right way to go.
Like it was
Twenty or more readers did not appreciate Wednesday’s Associated Press picture of an unidentified man plunging to his death from the World Trade Center.
Matt Ecklund summarized the protests: “In poor taste. Like a trashy Web site. Family suffering enough.”
Photography director Steve Rice defended the selection: “The image of the person frozen in midair communicated the desperation of their situation, a harsh reality of a horrible day. We were careful to use it modestly on an inside page but with enough size to communicate its message.”
Comment: Sure, the picture made me queasy. But the reality of terrorism should not be sugar-coated. It was a time to tell it like it was.
Bush on camera
The phones rang and rang Friday morning with readers alternately angry, baffled and disgusted with the “analysis” article from the Los Angeles Times on page 2 of the special report on “the attack.”
The headline told the story: “On camera, Bush needs to display more leadership.”
Comment: Bush’s TV technique is a legitimate topic. But it would have worked better on the Commentary page.
