This past week, we remembered the attack on the World Trade Center.
I’ll never forget that day. We had a television set outside of the radio control room, and it was tuned to one of the network television stations. I glanced at it briefly, and saw a picture of one of the towers with flames coming from it. Within moments, NPR had reports on it. Then a second plane flew into the other tower. And shortly after, the plane hit the Pentagon.
Soon, the airspace was closed and planes were grounded. That’s when I started making calls about the whereabouts of then-Governor John Hoeven. We found out later that he was in Minneapolis, and was able to get a ride back to Bismarck via automobile.
Now, as we prepared to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks, I was given a tip by a friend who used to work in radio news about a Bismarck native who was supposed to be on the first plane, American Airlines Flight 11. He gave me this person’s phone number, and we set up an interview time. After we finished, he said he had contact information for another Bismarck native who was living in Manhattan and remembered the attack, and I was grateful that she was willing to share her story, too.
“Today, I am an expert in…”
That line is from an editorial cartoon I used to have hanging in my office, which shows a reporter, blindfolded, with a dart in his hand. On the wall, there were a number of topics, with the headline: “Today, I am an expert in…”
It’s accurate, to an extent.
When I talk to students who would like to become reporters, I reference the cartoon and remind them their best tools of the trade are their eyes and ears. Keeping those open will help you find stories, and understand what’s happening. That’s something I learned from my mentors, and it was the most valuable lesson I learned.
