Broadcast and cable networks marked the Sept. 11 anniversary Wednesday with a
mix of tributes and remembrances.
Blanket news coverage began in the early morning and stretched through prime
time with little commercial interruption.
Unlike last year, this Sept. 11 was largely a staged news event. News outlets
drew up plans for covering the first anniversary months in advance.
Correspondents and anchors were deployed to key sites in Washington, D.C.; New York;
and Pennsylvania. NBC Today anchor Katie Couric, CBS Evening News' Dan Rather
and Fox News Channel's Shepard Smith anchored their coverage from Ground Zero.
Despite high winds threatening their outdoor set, Cable News Network's Aaron Brown and Paula
Zahn anchored six hours of coverage from the bureau's rooftop.
During ceremonies at the World Trade Center site, CBS continuously scrolled
pictures of the victims along with their names and ages.
NBC and ABC also ran names, though not continuously, while CNN's usual news
crawl was replaced with a stream of victims' names, ages and occupations.
One unsettling new feature popped up on the cable news channels Tuesday:
The terrorism alert graphic signaling the nation on "high" alert.
Courtroom Television Network used pool video for its coverage of morning events and introduced a
news crawl.
ShopNBC picked up MSNBC's coverage in the morning with a banner informing
viewers that sales would resume after 1 p.m., with proceeds going to Sept. 11-related charities.
Scripps Networks' Home & Garden Television and Food Network went dark for some part of the
morning, while A&E Network and The History Channel scrolled victims' names.
In prime time, CBS reaired its 9/11 documentary and NBC aired a
special tribute concert.
ABC stuck with news, while MSNBC and Fox News offered their
regular lineups, including Donahue and The O'Reilly Factor, devoted
to Sept. 11.
