On September 11, 2001, Columbia Journalism School students and alumni documented one of the most consequential days in history. For some members of the Class of 2002, the attacks became their first major reporting assignment as J-School students and a defining moment in their education and careers.
To mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11, alumni reflected on what they witnessed, how they covered the attacks and their aftermath and what the experience taught them about the responsibility of journalists in moments of tragedy.
These experiences span the immediate aftermath of the attacks and the years of recovery that followed. In a story filed that day, Mark Herz, ’02 M.S., reported from Chelsea Piers, where hundreds of emergency medical workers waited to assist survivors as first responders returned from Ground Zero.
Nearly three months later, Meredith Medina Murray, ’97 M.S., returned to Ground Zero while rescue work continued and tributes lined the streets of Lower Manhattan. “There were poignant reminders on every street corner of how many people had been affected by the events of September 11th,” recalled Murray.
As New York moved from immediate response to long-term recovery, one CJS graduate took on a central role in rebuilding Lower Manhattan. Bernard Cohen, '71 M.S., led the federal office overseeing the reconstruction of the transportation infrastructure destroyed at the World Trade Center. He still keeps the boots he wore while walking the site during that work. “I will never dispose of them,” Cohen said. “A small measure of respect for the people who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11.”
In the accompanying video, hear from nearly 30 CJS alumni as they share more memories from the day and the lessons they continue to carry 25 years later.