I was working the morning shift in Cleveland, Ohio the morning of 9/11.
Prior to the attacks, it was boringly uneventful. Most of the country was cloud-free, so the weather segments were quick and simple.
And then it happened.
The first plane hit, and at that point, it was being reported as a plane hitting one of the World Trade Center towers. We stayed with network coverage as the second plane hit, and it went from being a plane crash to a terrorist attack.
I remember the newsroom going from calm to insane noise and activity, with every available person being dispatched out into the community.
Phone lines started to jam. Communication was getting more difficult.
From what I remember, I don’t think we did a local noon news (if we did, it was brief)… we just stayed with the network coverage.
I went home and spent the rest of the day glued to the TV. During scattered moments when phone calls would go through, I contacted my family and some friends across the country, so we could all check in with each other.
