Remembering a day that now belongs to history

The San Francisco Chronicle will mirror its own readers and the diverse voices of the Bay Area on Sept. 11 when it publishes an eight-page special section done entirely in the first person, a mosaic of unfiltered, unaltered testimonials. The edition, editors say, will be "restrained, almost minimalist, but intensely personal." One likened it to Maya Lin's Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., only uniquely San Francisco.

In fact, the effort will be an extension of the Chronicle's yearlong efforts to report individual voices across the continent in the wake of a day that now belongs to history.

And readers will find stories directly from Bay Area citizens who were intimately affected by Sept.11, 2001. The authors of those pieces include the teenage son of an airline flight attendant killed in the suicide hijackings and a Pentagon employee who, while managing to survive, lost colleagues 3 feet to either side of him.

The San Antonio Express-News sent a reporter and a photographer to New York City in August in preparation for the paper's first anniversary coverage of Sept. 11. While there, photographer William Luther happened to shoot a series of photographs of the Statue of Liberty. The images so inspired editors searching for ways to make the Sept.11 edition memorable, they decided to include a full-page poster of Lady Liberty in the special section that will be published on the first anniversary of the terror attacks.

The only words on the poster, other than the newspaper's flag, were drawn from President Bush's remarks made that very day:

"America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon of freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining."

Such an unconventional approach to connecting to readers is just one example of the efforts under way at different Hearst newspapers in preparation for the day that looms large across the nation and world.

Editors at the Times Union in Albany, New York, are putting the finishing touches on a 24-page special section titled, "9.11 Remembered." The section contains 18 pages of editorial content and six pages of "tribute messages" from area businesses that received a guarantee from the Times Union that the newspaper would not make any profits from the ads. Instead, management is treating the venture as an important community service.

The Albany outreach builds on efforts a year ago when newspaper executives approached New York Gov. George Pataki to help with fund-raising efforts for victims and their families. That offer led to a "New York State Salute to America" special section and event that raised $381,000 in cash and in-kind donations.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is putting the emphasis on the future, rather the past, in its own Sept.11 anniversary coverage. Mindful of "Sept.11 fatigue," the editors there have titled their special section "9/11: How We've Changed." In the days after Sept.11, 2002, the newspaper will continue to explore relevant topics such as public safety, civic life and tolerance.

To bring home the story, the P-I also will publish a four-day, day-in-the-life look at Seattle headlined "One Year After."

The Houston Chronicle was the first U.S. daily to announce that every section of its Sunday, Sept. 8, edition would be devoted to the Sept. 11 theme. While the day's news and features were not neglected, Texas' largest daily gave readers a blockbuster edition to begin a week of intensified coverage.

While the Statue of Liberty poster greets San Antonio readers on Sept. 11, Houston readers will receive a full-page American flag.

Further up the Texas Gulf Coast, The Beaumont Enterprise will publish an eight-page special section exploring how the lives of local citizens have changed over the past year.

All of the Hearst newspapers can cite examples of how the terror attacks changed the way they do business. In the short term, circulation rose steeply and advertising dipped somewhat. One year later, most papers are enjoying more robust readership numbers while advertising, already anemic before the attacks, continues to be off but otherwise stable.

Operationally, the attacks changed the country and certainly changed the newspaper business along with everything else. Emergency response and operation plans have been reviewed and updated. Building security has been improved. New procedures were put in place to better monitor the tons of daily mail and, in particular, to make sure suspicious packages were dealt with safely.

In the aftermath of the attacks, all Hearst newspapers expanded their newsholes to accommodate the extraordinary flow of news emanating from New York, Washington, D.C., and overseas datelines. While newsholes have changed as the intensity of the day-to-day story has diminished, a newfound emphasis on foreign news is still evident and unlikely to change in the near future. Many Hearst reporters and photographers who would otherwise not have been assigned to work overseas have done so in the last year.

The Hearst Washington bureau has experienced its own transformation from a general news service for the Hearst newspaper group to a bureau closely focused on the war on terrorism, homeland security and all the attendant issues that dominate the public agenda inside the Beltway. Many lesser topics have gone by the wayside.

Fear of new attacks has also diminished, but editors have revised newsroom contingency plans for responding to major emergencies at both the national and community level.

Everyone at Hearst would be happy to see Sept 11, 2002, come and go quietly, with hope that such new contingency plans never get put to the test.