Shaping Opinion

President and CEO of Guide Dogs for the Blind, Christine Benninger joins Tim to we’ll talk about everything that has to happen long before that working guide dog meets his or her new partner.  Guide Dogs for the Blind works to give people with blindness freedom and mobility by helping them obtain guide dogs. That’s where their work culminates.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Guide_Dogs_auphonic.mp3

Close your eyes. Imagine not being able to see. Then imagine trying to go about your daily routine this way.

Even if you have trouble imagining it, you already get a sense of just how tough life can be if you’re blind. There are many ways people with blindness work to overcome daily challenges to live normal, productive and successful lives.

Today, we’re going to talk about one of the more fascinating programs that exists in this way. It’s called Guide Dogs for the Blind.  It’s based on the belief that everyone deserves to move through the world safely and confidently—to live the life they want to live.

While the work of Guide Dogs for the Blind is comprehensive, it all comes down to someone with a need, and the work involved to meet that need. That process starts with finding those special dogs, and then training them, which is a miracle in itself, and then of course, training the dog's partner so that the two are a perfect match.

Guide Dogs for the Blind is the largest guide dog school in North America. More than 16,000 guide dog teams have graduated from the school since the organization’s founding in 1942.

Believe it or not, the organization does not charge its clients. The personalized training and support is provided thanks to the organization’s donors and volunteers.

Chris Benninger has been the organization’s president and CEO since 2014.

Links

* Guide Dogs for the Blind (website)

* Pick of the Litter Documentary

About this Episode’s Guest Christine Benninger

Christine Benninger

Christine (Chris) joined Guide Dogs for the Blind in April of 2014. Chris brings a wealth of non-profit and for-profit experience to her role. Prior to joining GDB, she spent 17 years leading the Humane Society Silicon Valley. During her tenure there, she and her team’s progressive approach helped save the lives of tens of thousands of animals and greatly reduce pet overpopulation problems in Santa Clara County. Under her leadership, the organization was also able to raise $25.5 million to build The Animal Community Center -- the first facility of its kind in the country.

Under Chris’ leadership, Guide Dogs for the Blind has expanded its program offerings to include Orientation and Mobility training for individuals with insufficient skills to qualify for guide dog training, a companion dog program for visually-impaired children and advocacy in support of GDB’s visually-impaired communities. In addition, annual fundraising has tripled since 2014 and a new state-of-the-art Puppy Center has been built. Current organization-wide initiatives include Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as well as full accessibility throughout GDB and its communication channels. Chris was elected to the IGDF board at the 2021 IGDF Annual General Meeting.

Chris honed her business skills as an auditor with Arthur Andersen & Co. as well as in her 15 years with Hewlett Packard Corporation. At HP, Chris held managerial positions in the U.S. as well as in Europe. She holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Chris loves to ride her bike, hike, and travel. Chris loves dogs and has three of her own: Theia, a career change Golden Retriever, who now serves as an ambassador for GDB as well as Hank,

Journalist Hollie McKay joins Tim from Afghanistan where she lives and from where she files her reports as the Taliban strengthens its control over the country in the wake of the U.S. pullout. Hollie is a war crimes investigator, an author and a reporter who gives a view on what life is like for the people of Afghanistan now that the Taliban is in control.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Afghanistan_auphonic.mp3

Photo Source: Hollie McKay

America just marked the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and four hijacked aircraft.

The attacks were waged by Islamic terrorists with the backing of Osama Bin Laden and the terrorist group Al Qaeda.  At the time, Al Qaeda and the Taliban operated terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, where the 9/11 hijackers trained.

On October 7, 2001, the United States and Great Britain responded to the 9/11 attacks by targeting terrorist training camps in Afghanistan with bombs and cruise missiles.

That led to a war against the terrorists in that country and a 20-year war-time occupation.

By August of this year, that conflict started to come to its end as the United States pulled out of the country.

Over the 20 years of the Afghan war, more than 3,500 allied troops died in combat. That includes 2,448 American service members. More than 20,000 Americans suffered combat-related wounds. Many more came home with scars you can’t see.

According to Brown University, roughly 69,000 Afghan security forces were killed during that period, as well as 51,000 Afghan civilians and 51,000 terrorists and militants.

The United States had spent $2 trillion on the conflict.  In the end, the U.S. left billions of dollars in military equipment and arms, including armored vehicles, drones and military helicopters.

In 10 days in August, from August 6th through the 15th, the Taliban took control of Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif and then the capital city, Kabul.

The incumbent Afghan government quickly fell apart with the country’s president fleeing to the UAE. The U.S. evacuated its embassy, and thousands of American citizens went to the Kabul airport to flee the country.

During the evacuation, two suicide bombers attacked the Kabul airport, killing more than 103 people, including 12 American Marines and one U.S. Navy medic.

By the time the Taliban took control, there were still an undetermined number of Americans and Afghan allies still in the country.

Hollie McKay is a war crimes investigator and has worked on the frontlines of several war zones that have included Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Iran, and many other places, including Afghanistan.

Links

* Afghans Dying at Border as Tensions Intensify Between Taliban, Pakistan, New York Post

* Driving Across What Was Once Afghanistan's Terror-Filled Highway, Knewz

* The Transformation of Kabul, One Month After the Taliban Takeover, New York Post

* Taliban Official: Strict Punishment, Executions Will Return, Associated Press

* Hollie McKay (website)

About this Episode’s Guest Hollie McKay

Hollie McKay

Hollie S. McKay is a foreign policy expert and war crimes investigator. She was an investigative and international aff...

NASA’s Chief Scientist Dr. Jim Green joins Tim to talk about big plans for the red planet, Mars. Jim has had a long and distinguished career on some of the agency’s major research projects and missions that have explored the rest of our solar system, from Mars to Pluto. In this episode, Jim gets into detail on what we have learned, can learn and will learn from Earth’s nextdoor neighbor. He uncovers some of the secrets of Mars.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Revealing_the_Secrets_of_Mars_auphonic.mp3

Next to the Moon and the Sun, the most captivating celestial bodies in our night sky for mankind over thousands and thousands of years has been Mars. The red planet. The fourth rock from the sun.

So, it made sense when we started to make plans for space travel, Mars would figure prominently into those plans.

As far back as the inception of both the Soviet and American space programs in the late 1950s and early 1960s, space scientist started making plans to explore Mars.

By July 4, 1997, NASA was able to land a spacecraft on Mars.  The Mars Pathfinder was launched on December 4th 1996. Six months later, it landed on Mars.

The unit featured the first-ever robotic rover that sent an unprecedented amount of data on the planet back to scientists at NASA.

After that, there were other missions, which included Mars orbiters, landers, and excavators.  And the United States hasn’t been the only country working to explore the planet.

The Soviet Union, then Russia, then China, then India, and even the United Arab Emirates have launched missions to Mars.

Each time, we learn something new and something significant about Mars. But in the end, there is one question that continues to drive mankind’s quest to visit Mars. Is there life on that planet, and if so, what does it look like?

Jim Green has worked to find the answers to this and many other questions throughout his career as a scientist at NASA.

Please Thank Our Sponsors

Please remember to thank our sponsors, without whom the Shaping Opinion podcast would not exist.  If you have the need, please support these organizations that have the same taste in podcasts that you do:

* BlueHost Premium Web Hosting

* Dell Outlet Overstock Computer Center

* Philips Hue Smart Home Lighting

Links

* NASA's Mars Exploration Program

* James L. Green, NASA

* Why We Explore Mars, National Geographic

* Nicolaus Copernicus, History.com

* Jezero Crater - Mars, NASA

About this Episode’s Guest Dr. Jim Green

Dr. Jim GreenPhoto courtesy of NASA

NASA’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Jim Green received his Ph.D. in Space Physics from the University of Iowa in 1979 and began working in the Magnetospheric Physics Branch at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in 1980. At Marshall, Dr. Green developed and managed the Space Physics Analysis Network, which provided many scientists, all over the world, with rapid access to data, other scientists, and specific NASA computer and information resources. In addition, Dr. Green was a safety diver in the Neutral Buoyancy tank making over 150 dives until he left MSFC in 1985.

The COO and General Manager of Nashville’s famous Bluebird Café Erika Wollam Nichols joins Tim to talk about the Bluebird, its storied history and how this little place in a strip mall has impacted country music, songwriting and our culture. This encore episode was first released as Episode 81 on August 19, 2019.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_Bluebird_Cafe.mp3

If you were to drive down Hillsboro Pike just outside of Downtown, Nashville, you could easily miss it. The Bluebird Café is tucked into a small strip mall, and is as unassuming as it might have been the day it opened in 1982.

It’s known as a songwriter’s performance space. It has only 90 seats but it still plays host to new and upcoming singer-songwriters, and accomplished artists on any given night.

The music is acoustic. The genres can range from country and bluegrass, to pop, rock and contemporary Christian music.

In addition to Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift, Bluebird audiences have had the chance to listen to Keith Urban, Kathy Mattea, Trisha Yearwood, Faith Hill, Vince Gill, LeAnn Rimes, John Prine, Phil Vassar, and many, many writers who’ve created songs for the biggest names in music.

Amy Kurland founded the Bluebird Café in 1982, and in 2008, she sold it to the Nashville Songwriters Association International. It was more of a donation, than a sale. The Nashville Songwriters Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the craft of songwriting.

The Bluebird Café gained even broader attention in 2012 when the hit ABC television drama Nashville featured the Bluebird in its ongoing plotline.

Links

* The Bluebird Cafe

* Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI)

* ‘Nashville’ Made the Bluebird Famous, But Few People Know the Venue’s Real Story, Washington Post

* Taylor Swift Proved She Can Actually Work a Room at Nashville Landmark Bluebird Café, People Magazine

* Garth Brooks Brings Stories, Friendships to Bluebird Café, The Tennesseean

* Bluebird Documentary, Review, Variety

About this Episode's Guest Erika Wollam Nichols

Erika Wollam Nichols is the General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of Nashville’s Bluebird Café.

A native of Acton, Massachusetts, Erika came to Nashville in 1984 when she went to Belmont University and began working at The Bluebird Café.

Since then, she was the Program Director for the Summer Lights Festival, a city-wide event that was 4 days of music, art, dance and theater in downtown Nashville. She handled all the entertainment from folks like Wynonna to the local theater company. The event boasted an attendance of over 150,000 people with talent on up to 8 outdoor stages. She left there in 1996 to run Tin Pan South for the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) from 1996 to 2000. She then went to the Country Music Hall of Fame as Director of Public Programs, and then VP of Marketing & Community Outreach. She returned to NSAI in 2004 and attended grad school for her MFA.

Erika agreed to take the helm of The Bluebird when NSAI purchased it 2008.

Mary Latham is on a mission to collect stories of kindness from all 50 states in the country for a once-in-a-lifetime journey. She joins Tim to talk about what and who inspired her mission and tells many stories she’s learned 41 states into her trip. This Encore Episode (#75) was first released on July 8, 2019.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_In_Search_of_Kindness.mp3

Mary Latham is in the middle of the kind of trip that many may dream of, but only a few take, which is to travel across all 50 states in America by car.

What makes Mary’s story even more unique is why she’s doing it and what she hopes to find.

Mary is looking for as many stories of human kindness as she can find and document for a book she plans to write that will be donated to hospital waiting rooms across the country.

Mary’s physical journey started in October 2016, but the idea came much sooner, in 2012.

In the process, she has created a movement she calls, “More Good.”

You may wonder what this has to do with “shaping opinion.” The answer is simple. When someone travels to all 50 states, collecting stories of kindness, you get to know something about America and why and how Americans think the way they do. Mary’s journey will help you see the very large good in the country.

Links

* More Good

* A Woman’s Journey to Find Human Kindness One State at a Time, Westword

* Inspired by Her Mother, She Roadtrips Across the Country to Gather Stories of Kindness, WBUR

* A Quest to Collect Stories of Kindness Has Driven Her to 39 States (and counting), Star Tribune

* Searching for More Good, Stonehill College

* Woman Travels Entire Country Seeking Random Acts of Kindness in Honor of Late Mother, The Western Journal

About this Episode's Guest Mary Latham

Mary Latham was working in a law firm, as a nanny in the evenings and she ran a photography business on the weekends when she lost her mother from cancer. That traumatic event inspired Mary to look for the positive, or in the words of her mother Pat, there’s “more good” in the world if you just look for it. So, that’s what Mary decided to do.

Since then, Mary’s mission has taken her to 41 U.S. states so far.

Ed Root joins Tim to talk about the people and the groups who have dedicated their lives to remembering the people and the lessons of 9/11.  Ed is a cousin of flight attendant Lorraine Bay, who was aboard United Flight 93 when it crashed into a field on September 11, 2001. Since then, Ed has been an active member of a group called, “Families of Flight 93.” Ed has dedicated much of his life to since that day. From September 12th until today, that story and the work involved can be summed up in two words, “Never forget.” This episode is part of our special series, "9/11: A Generation Removed."

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Never_Forget_at_20.mp3

The stories of September 11th 2001 number in the thousands. There were the victims, the heroes, the first responders, the people from Air Traffic Control towers, to emergency dispatchers and people in Washington. There were leaders, decision-makers, and family members.

The ripple effect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks was huge, and if you’re paying attention, it’s still happening to this day, 20 years later.

But for as powerful and broad as those attacks had on America on that day, it was the next day that a whole new set of stories would begin. The little-known stories of people who’ve decided we are not going to forget what happened. We are not going to forget those who died. We are not going to pretend this never happened. We will never forget.

This is one of those stories. Ed Root is one of those people.

About 9/11: A Generation Removed

On September 11, 2021, America will mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the country that happened on September 11, 2001. In remembrance of the event, the Shaping Opinion podcast will release a series of nine distinct episodes centered on the 9/11 attacks, starting on Friday, September 3rd and culminating on the 20th Anniversary, September 11, 2021.  The series, entitled, “9/11: A Generation Removed,” will feature six new and original episodes for 2021, and three encore episodes, all based on the personal experiences of guests and stories of people who were there in New York, in Washington, D.C., and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Links

* Families of Flight 93, Facebook

* Friends of Flight 93, website

* Flight 93 Memorial, National Park Service Site

* 9/11 National Memorial and Museum, website

* Police Benevolent Association of New York City, WTC Resources

* FDNY Memorial Page, unofficial

* A 9/11 Reflection: The Pentagon in Photos, Pentagon

About this Episode’s Guest Ed Root

Edwin Root retired as a business analysis after 34 years from Phillips Van-Heusen Corporation. An advocate for many years of American Civil War historic preservation, Ed served on the Boards of the Civil War Library and Museum in Philadelphia and the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association. He is also a co-author of “Isn’t This Glorious – The 15th, 19th and 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiments at Gettysburg’s Copse of Trees.”  The book garnered the “Bachelder-Coddington Award for Civil War in 2006.

His cousin, Lorraine Grace Bay, was a senior flight attendant on United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11th, 2001.He served on the Stage II jury which selected the winning design of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, Pennsylvania in 2005.

Award-winning photographer Thomas E. Franklin joins Tim to tell his story of Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, and the story behind that now iconic photo he took that day, one that gave a nation in shock and mourning, something new. A sense of hope. And something to rally around. Our collective sense of patriotism. He captured that image of those three firefighters raising the American flag amidst the ruins of the World Trade Center.  This episode is part of our special series, "9/11: A Generation Removed."

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/A_Flag_Raising_at_20.mp3

Tom Franklin had just gotten back from an assignment in the Dominican Republic. It was 8 a.m. on September 11, 2001, and he was in the newsroom at The Bergen Record in Hackensack, New Jersey. He was ready to get back into a normal routine, coving the New York and New Jersey region. It was a beautiful, sunny day.

That all changed at 8:46 a.m., when the first of two jets would plow into the World Trade Center towers as part of a coordinated terroristic attack on America. Tom had to gram his camera and equipment and go.

About 9/11: A Generation Removed

On September 11, 2021, America will mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the country that happened on September 11, 2001. In remembrance of the event, the Shaping Opinion podcast will release a series of nine distinct episodes centered on the 9/11 attacks, starting on Friday, September 3rd and culminating on the 20th Anniversary, September 11, 2021.  The series, entitled, “9/11: A Generation Removed,” will feature six new and original episodes for 2021, and three encore episodes, all based on the personal experiences of guests and stories of people who were there in New York, in Washington, D.C., and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Links

* Thomas E. Franklin, Website

* 9/11 Photographers: Thomas E. Franklin Remembers, Lohud.com

* About the Photo, About the Flag, Ground Zero Spirit

* Behind the Lenz on September 11, Politico

About this Episode’s Guest Tom Franklin

Thomas E. Franklin is an award-winning photographer, multimedia journalist, documentary filmmaker, and educator, based in northern New Jersey.

Since 2016, his multimedia work has explored issues related to immigration and forced migration, shedding light on the highly complex circumstances surrounding global migration and reporting on the personal experiences of many who have been forcibly displaced or seeking asylum. Currently, his project, Seeking Refuge, is display at the Paterson Museum in a virtual exhibit. Originally planned to debut at the Museum in May 2020, the physical exhibition was postponed due to the museum’s COVID-19 closure.

While working on Seeking Refuge, Tom traveled on assignment to Central Mexico, and the Southern U.S. border with Mexico, where his dramatic footage of migrants who breached the U.S. border fence by the Pacific Ocean in Tijuana was published by the Los Angeles Times syndicate. He also traveled to Lesvos, Greece, where he produced, The World Arrived at Our Doorstep, a 10-minute documentary film about a British couple living there who w...

Retired Marine Lt. Colonel Robert Darling joins Tim to tell his story of what it was like in the White House bunker on 9/11, where the vice president and other administration officials gathered intel and made decisions minute by minute. Some of those decisions were not only life and death, but historically, never had to be made before. Robert gives an insider’s story on how the nation’s leadership responded to the most severe attack on America’s homeland since the Civil War.  This episode is part of our special series, "9/11: A Generation Removed."

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Inside_the_White_House_Bunker_at_20.mp3

As much as has been reported over the years about what happened on September 11th, 2001, outside of some of the leaders involved, you rarely get the chance to hear the story from an insider – someone who was both a participant and a witness to history, in that context. That’s what you get when you hear the story of now retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Robert J. Darling.

Bob was a military liaison officer to the President. He was primarily responsible for planning air travel logistics for the President, the Vice President and the First Family. He was a pilot of Marine One, the helicopter that carries the President. He was a combat-hardened former Marine Cobra helicopter pilot.

On September 11th, he found himself in direct support to Vice President Dick Cheney, the National Security Advisor, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, and others in the administration and in the nation’s leadership apparatus.

He was a critical communications link between those in the White House bunker and the chain of command outside of the bunker in national security, at the Pentagon, transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, world leaders and others.

When the terrorist attacks happened, the President was in Florida. The vice president was on site in the White House, along with other senior members of the administration.

In the years before September 11th, much prepared him for what he’d see, what he’d hear and what he would have to do on that day. But as we find out, everyone who was with him in the White House bunker that day brought with them their own special histories and experiences that uniquely prepared them for the roles each would play, to make decisions that would affect the safety of millions and influence the future of the country they served.

Links

* Robert J. Darling (website)

* 24 Hours Inside the White House Bunker, by Robert J. Darling (Barnes & Noble)

* Inside the White House Bunker on 9/11, West Point Center for Oral History

About 9/11: A Generation Removed

On September 11, 2021, America will mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the country that happened on September 11, 2001. In remembrance of the event, the Shaping Opinion podcast will release a series of nine distinct episodes centered on the 9/11 attacks, starting on Friday, September 3rd and culminating on the 20th Anniversary, September 11, 2021.  The series, entitled, “9/11: A Generation Removed,” will feature six new and original episodes for 2021, and three encore episodes, all based on the personal experiences of guests and stories of people who were there in New York, in Washington, D.C., and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

About this Episode’s Guest Robert J. Darling

Lieutenant Colonel Robert J. Darling retired from the United States Marine Corps with just over twenty years of active duty service in October 2007.

Former Bloomberg News White House correspondent Dick Keil joins Tim to talk about his story of 9/11 that started at 6:30 a.m. when he went on a morning run with President Bush in Sarasota, Florida, where the president was scheduled to make an appearance at a local elementary school.  Dick provides details and background on what the chain of events was with the president that morning, and what it was like to cover the President of the United States from Air Force One as history was unfolding.  This episode is part of our special series, "9/11: A Generation Removed."

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Running_with_the_President_at_20.mp3

On the morning of September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush woke up a little before 6 a.m.  He was staying at the Colony Beach and Tennis Resort on Longboat Key, Florida, not far from Sarasota, where he was to make a visit at a local elementary school later that morning.

At 6:30 a.m., he took his daily run. He ran about for and a half miles on the grounds of the Longboat Key Golf Club. It took him just over 32 minutes to complete the run. He was joined by several Secret Services agents, and by Bloomberg White House correspondent Richard Keil.

It was a beautiful day in Florida and all the way up the East Coast.

The president was scheduled to visit the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota at 9 a.m.  That was a 20-minute drive from the hotel to the school.

The purpose of the trip was to promote education. This was part of the president’s campaign to combat illiteracy rates in the country. The name of the campaign was, “Putting Reading First.” Shortly after 8:30 a.m., the presidential motorcade left the hotel for the school.

Meanwhile, 1,200 miles away, at 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Quickly, Press Secretary Ari Fleischer gets word that a plane has crashed into one of the towers at the World Trade Center. Word starts to spread throughout the motorcade, but the president is not immediately notified.

About two minutes after the plane has hit the building, at 8:48 a.m., the president arrives at the elementary school, where he is told what’s happened by his Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

As far as anyone knows at that point, the size of the plane and what had happened were unclear. For now, the president assumes it was a tragic accident.

The president is escorted to a room in the school where there are 18 second-graders in two rows before him. They start to take turns reading a story from a children’s book called, “The Pet Goat.”

The traveling White House Press Corps lines the back of the room, capturing video of what is to be a routine photo op. At the same time, some in that group are already getting texts, pages and calls about what is unfolding in New York.

At 9:03 a.m., a second aircraft, United Flight 175 has crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Before long, Andrew Card would do something that’s almost never done in the midst of a presidential event. He walks to the head of the classroom, and leans down to communicate directly to the president.

He whispers into the president’s right ear, “A second plane has just hit the World Trade Center. America is under attack.”

Immediately, he steps back so as not to engage in a discussion of the matter in front of the children and the news media.

The president’s demeanor immediately and visibly changes. Clearly, he is preoccupied. He avoids any abrupt actions or movements so as not to send the wrong message. He works to keep his cool until the appropriate time where he can gracefully excuse himself from the room.

Not long after,

Former CNN lead news anchor Aaron Brown joins Tim to tell his story from September 11, 2001, where he brought the event to 1.4 billion viewers around the world, live as it happened. It was Aaron Brown on that day, standing on a rooftop in New York City, bringing us one of the most historic and tragic moments of our generation in real time. This episode is part of our special series, "9/11: A Generation Removed."

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/A_Network_Anchor_Story_at_20.mp3

If you remember September 11, 2001, you remember how you learned of the terrorist attacks of that day. If you weren’t in New York City, or at the Pentagon, or in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, chances are you remember getting the news from a friend, or a coworker, or a family member, and then you turned on the TV.

I’ll tell you what I did. I was in a meeting in a building just next to the Pittsburgh airport. We could hear and feel the roar of jet engines nonstop as they came in, one after the other to land. This was not normal. I remember telling the person I was with that it reminded me of jets landing on an aircraft carrier.

Minutes later, someone came into the room and told us that all flights were grounded, so if anyone had a plane to catch, they were out of luck. That a plane had hit the World Trade Center, and that was all they knew.

My meeting was over, so I went out to my car, and that was my first chance to get the news. I heard it on the radio. Then I went home and spent the rest of that day glued to the television, flipping channels, just like most Americans and people around the world.

While the Internet was extremely influential, television was the thing.

Most everyone in America still got most of their breaking news from one of the three broadcast networks or CNN, or the radio. Newspapers would follow the next day with in-depth reporting. News websites sort of filled in where broadcast and print couldn’t. It all worked together to give you the best picture of events as possible.

On September 11th, most watched on television. Tragic, scary, puzzling, angering, confusing, and live.

Live coverage removed the filter, it removed the buffer. Journalists were seeing events unfold with us. And so were decision-makers, from the White House to the Pentagon to air traffic controllers and first responders. If you weren’t on site, you were watching a TV monitor.

Yet still, it was the job of a few reporters to try to make sense of it all with us and for us.

Aaron Brown was the face and the voice of CNN on that day. He was the cable network’s lead anchor, newly minted, having just arrived from ABC. He was one of a handful of people, that the world relied on to try to understand what we were all seeing. To verify what we were all hearing. To know what was actually happening.

Links

* Aaron Brown Joining Walter Cronkite School, Adweek

* On the 15th Anniversary, what it was like to anchor 9/11, CNN

* The Face of 9/11, HuffPost

About 9/11: A Generation Removed

On September 11, 2021, America will mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the country that happened on September 11, 2001. In remembrance of the event, the Shaping Opinion podcast will release a series of nine distinct episodes centered on the 9/11 attacks, starting on Friday, September 3rd and culminating on the 20th Anniversary, September 11, 2021.  The series, entitled, “9/11: A Generation Removed,” will feature six new and original episodes for 2021,