October 3, 2001
>>> Lech Walesa, former president of Poland, took questions from an audience of 50 Elon students October 3, 2001
October 2, 2001
>>> Remarks by Lech Walesa -- Former president of Poland Lech Walesa delivered a keynote address during Elon's Fall Convocation Tuesday, Oct. 2.
September 26, 2001
>>> Letter to alumni from President Leo M. Lambert
September 22, 2001
>>> Invocation by Chaplain Richard McBride at Rhodes Stadium inaugural game
September 20, 2001
>>> Remarks by Dean Paul Parsons -- forum on media coverage of the terrorist attack
>>> Media coverage of attacks examined at Elon forum
September 19, 2001
>>> David McCullough news conference excerpts
>>> Historian David McCullough discussed the recent terrorist attacks during the inaugural Baird Pulitzer Prize Lecture
>>> Historian David McCullough holds news conference and Q&A
September 18, 2001
>>> Letter to parents of Elon students from President Leo M. Lambert
September 17, 2001
>>> Elon Forum on Terrorism
>>> Fraternity, sorority team up for disaster relief
September 16, 2001
>>> An opinion column from the Greensboro News & Record by Prof. Rudy Zarzar
September 15, 2001
>>> Letter from President Leo M. Lambert to the Elon community
September 14, 2001
>>> Students hold a candlelight vigil
>>> The Day of Prayer and Remembrance
September 12, 2001
>>> About the community meeting
>>> Remarks by President Leo M. Lambert
>>> Remarks by President Emeritus Earl Danieley
>>> Remarks by Prof. John Sullivan
>>> Remarks by SGA President Trey Bolton
>>> Remarks by Chaplain Richard McBride
September 11, 2001
>>> Elon graduate survives World Trade Center attack
>>> The immediate reaction
>>> A Time for Prayer gathering at Elon Community Church: Prayer by Gregg Sullivan
Reaction to Terrorism Home Page
 Opening remarks Paul Parsons, Dean of the Elon School of Communications Forum: "Good News, Bad News: Media Coverage of the Terrorist Attack" September 20, 2001 We Americans have a love-and-hate relationship with our news media. We love to criticize the media for their shortcomings, and they are many -- sometimes superficial, sometimes sensational, sometimes intrusive, sometimes cynical. Our media do indeed have many faults. But in a time of crisis, we turn as a people to the media for information, insight, commentary and comfort. Television is our national gathering-place in time of crisis. Last night, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough told a large Elon audience that media coverage of the terrorist attack has been "television's finest hour." He said newspapers such as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have been superb. Journalists are historians-in-a-hurry. They report events as they happen. Later, historians like David McCullough can give these events their context so that we can see what it all meant. But when you are reporting the here-and-now, you don't know the outcome. You may only have piecemeal information. You don't have context. These journalists, these historians-in-a-hurry, make errors. So let's get these out in the open right now, up front. Early estimates that 800 people had perished at the Pentagon were wrong. The body count turned out to be 190. How does an error like this occur? Government officials at the scene gave the 800 estimate. Journalists rely on people at the scene, whose own information can be imprecise in the midst of the moment. The media trumpeted word that authorities had detained suspects with knives trying to board flights at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports. Federal authorities did arrest 10 suspects, and the airports were shut down, but none of the suspects had weapons. Another media error. Last Thursday, two days after the tragedy, the television networks reported that five people had miraculously been rescued from the rubble. They were wrong. They had relied on New York police officials, but it turned out that the rescue involved two firefighters who had fallen into a hole in the rubble earlier that day, not people trapped for two days from the original collapse of the World Trade Center towers. Some media organizations were criticized for publishing photos or showing video of victims falling or leaping from the burning buildings. These were disturbing images, and there were many reasons not to show these images. But one compelling reason to publish kept coming forward: It was the awful truth. Most images were of twisted metal, broken buildings and frightened survivors. The most horrific part of this tragedy is the loss of life. The reality of victims falling or jumping from the towers did what no other image could do in capturing this human tragedy. CBS showed it; ABC decided not to. NBC and Fox showed a body falling once, and decided not to do so again. The point is, journalists continually are making ethical decisions in the heat of the moment, trying to tell the awful truth in an appropriate way. America's media operate in a capitalist system. They -- like airlines, computer companies, family businesses -- need to make money to survive. So why did newspapers all over the country rush out special editions with no advertising underwriting the expense? Why did NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and other networks drop all commercials for four days of continuous news coverage -- at a cost of $100 million dollars a day in local and national advertising? It's because America's media aren't just any other business in society. They hold a social responsibility to inform and comfort a grieving nation. |
