With the 10th anniversary of the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks approaching, TVNewser reached out to anchors, reporters, producers and executives for their thoughts on that day, and what they believe has changed in the last 10 years.
ABC’s Christiane Amanpour, who was at that time the chief international correspondent for CNN, was shooting a report for “60 Minutes” from Sierra Leone, West Africa:
As word of the 9/11 attacks started filtering out my CNN producer was desperately trying to reach me as CNN bosses wanted me on the story immediately. But Sierra Leone was virtually cut off from the world: only spotty cell phone coverage and the airport was closed because of the war. So CNN and “60 Minutes” had to airlift me out of there on a helicopter and I finally got to Abidjan, Ivory Coast several hours later. The airport manager took me to his private home to watch CNN coverage being broadcast around the world. It was the first time I was seeing those dreadful images. My blood ran cold, and my mind raced with the implications of what I was seeing. Boarding the plane that night back to my base in Europe, the most extraordinary thing happened: the pilot stepped out of the cockpit shortly before we took off. He addressed all of us passengers: “Look around you, look at the person in the seat next to you,” he said. “If you notice or feel anything wrong, alert us immediately before we take off.” It was terrifying.
Advertisement
CNBC’s Jim Cramer, host of “Mad Money”:
For me, it was all about trying to get out of 14 Wall, where I had been filming for TheStreet.com. We were locked in. Many were worried that the second tower would crash on us. We kept hearing about a third plane and a fourth. After 3 p.m., the fire department walked us out and we looked back at the burning towers and we knew that nothing would ever be the same again.