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“Simultaneously retrospective and forward-looking, the coverage addresses themes and topics such as American identity, fear and the politics of memory and memorials,” says an Associated Press release.
More than a dozen standalone video packages for online video subscribers include personal accounts from some of the AP staffers who came face-to-face with 9/11 terror. Among the staffers are photographers Richard Drew, whose “Falling Man” image of a head-first plummet from the twin towers continues to resonate internationally, and Amy Sancetta, who kept shooting as the dust and debris from a collapsing tower bloomed toward her.
AP’s release is after the jump.
AP Press Release
Aug. 30, 2011
AP’s all-format coverage of 9/11 — 10 years later — includes HD video
NEW YORK — The Associated Press plans in-depth, all-format coverage of memorial observances in New York, in Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, as the news cooperative continues to deploy its global resources to provide a wide array of pre-anniversary stories and multimedia on the impact of that awful day on the United States and the world.
The multiplatform coverage of ceremonies on Sunday, Sept. 11, will include AP video for broadcasters in both formats — standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD).
AP’s Global Media Services, which provides editorial and logistical support to broadcasters and news platforms covering global or regional news stories on location, will be offering both SD and HD transmission on the day of the memorials. The highly specialized team of GMS producers, facilitators and technicians will be on the ground at ground zero and in Washington, D.C., to facilitate clients’ reports.
AP’s text, photo, video, radio, online, interactive and graphics pre-anniversary coverage has been under way for weeks. Simultaneously retrospective and forward-looking, the coverage addresses themes and topics such as American identity, fear and the politics of memory and memorials. Investigative pieces have so far included AP’s look at a post-9/11 link between the New York Police Department and the CIA and a probe exposing questionable charities spawned by 9/11 (http://apne.ws/ragyzE). Slice-of-life accounts from around the U.S. and enterprise stories on the legacy of 9/11 focus on education, transit and air travel, public safety efforts, architecture, movies, parenting, health, mourning, Muslims in America, counterterrorism and the transformation of ground zero.
“Ten years later, the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, continue to shape the world in many ways,” said Mike Oreskes, AP senior managing editor for U.S. news. “The AP is presenting a sweep and depth of coverage to capture the range of that impact.”
The primary editor of text pieces and director of cross-format coordination is Amy Westfeldt, appointed by Oreskes last April. She has been working closely with Assistant Managing Editor Ted Anthony in the AP Nerve Center.
The AP has moved a package of 13 stories in advance for use Labor Day weekend and beyond, for newspapers planning special sections around the attacks’ anniversary. The AP will call attention in the next week to centerpiece enterprise it released over the summer for possible use in special sections, including a series of stories by Tamara Lush, a newswoman based in Tampa, Fla., who has been traveling the country.
Lush has been documenting how American life has changed since the 9/11 attacks (http://bit.ly/rkSi19). Accompanying her reporting is a regularly updated interactive featuring a map of the places she has visited, with journal entries and photos.
Much of AP’s sweeping package of multiformat content for members, subscribers and prospective clients worldwide is referenced in interactives, among them a timeline of how events unfolded on Sept. 11, 2001, with photos, audio, video and before and after images of key locations.
Visuals include a standalone photo package of the 9/11 attacks and aftermath, with more than 20 images.
More than a dozen standalone video packages for online video subscribers include personal accounts from some of the AP staffers who came face-to-face with 9/11 terror. Among the staffers are photographers Richard Drew, whose “Falling Man” image of a head-first plummet from the twin towers continues to resonate internationally, and Amy Sancetta, who kept shooting as the dust and debris from a collapsing tower bloomed toward her.
Leading up to our coverage of the 10th anniversary, AP Radio will be running pieces voiced and produced by AP correspondents Warren Levinson, Sandy Kozel, Sagar Meghani and Mark Smith in its daily newscasts and feeds. The more than 28 audio segments began running Aug. 29. They’ll look back at the stories that shaped AP’s coverage of Sept. 11, 2001, and include reports on first responders, victims’ families and current preparations for coping with attacks. AP Radio will begin airing one minute Live Special Reports on AP-1 at :20 and :40 past the hour on Sept. 11, starting at 8:40 a.m. ET as memorial events get under way in New York, Pennsylvania and the Pentagon. Kozel will anchor the reports and Levinson, Smith and Meghani will provide coverage from the locations.
The AP has compiled a “Sept. 11 Style and Reference Guide” (http://bit.ly/p4InVB), conceived and organized by Assistant East Editor Jeff McMillan and Westfeldt, to help members and AP Stylebook followers with standard phrasing and consistency of coverage.
In social media, the AP is engaging news consumers via Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/APNews/posts/10150259303741623 and Twitter / @AP, posing questions about their Sept. 11 stories and how their lives have changed. The AP is using reader responses for a weekly feature, called “Sept 11-Memories,” as seen at http://apne.ws/pCMood and http://on.fb.me/nOSbHu
To review some highlights of the coverage that AP has already provided, please visit www.ap.org/911
AP is carrying out a multimillion-dollar upgrade of its video newsgathering infrastructure in order to provide high-definition images to the broadcast and digital industries. At the same time, AP is also significantly increasing the depth and breadth of video content available from around the world. The upgrade is the single biggest investment in the AP’s London-based video business since 1998, when the AP bought its competitor, Worldwide Television News.
In lower Manhattan, The Associated Press and The New York City Police Museum are collaborating on an exhibition of 30 compelling photographs drawn from the AP archives. “9/11: A Uniform Response” will be displayed at the museum from Sept. 9 through Jan. 16, 2012. Further information here: http://bit.ly/oLH1Xl
