On the 10 year anniversary of September 11, 2001 and the week leading up to it, CNN.com provided a multitude of stories exploring different aspects of the day. While most content focused on stories of survivors and their family members, and America remembering the people killed in the attacks, several stories took different approaches.
A story on Monday, the main story on the homepage, stated "Why Muslims are Still Mad at America." I was surprised by the timing of this story. While the 9/11 attacks were the responsibility of a small group of Muslim extremists, many in the country struggle to differentiate the two, especially in regards to 9/11.
A good illustration of that is all of the hoopla surrounding the proposed mosque and community center being built three blocks from Ground Zero, and all of the anger and resurfaced emotions that it brought forth. So for CNN to do a story the week of 9/11 about "them" being mad at "us" was surprising. However, what better time to talk about this difficult subject then when it has been brought to the forefront of our minds because of the anniversary. The nature of the tragedy (i.e. thousands were killed) would hopefully force us to speak in a respectful tone as well.
The website used its iReporters as well to tell several stories of religion, lost loved ones, and calls to serve.
CNN.com offered a unique perspective of that tragic day through the eyes of President Bush's personal photographer. CNN.com also did a piece on the Jay-Z album released the morning of September 11, 2001. Jay-Z's album hit first-week sales that albums by Bob Dylan and Mariah Carey didn't come close to, and the article takes a look at why this was the case.
On September 11, 2001, CNN.com's homepage was devoted to coverage of September 11, as could be expected. However, CNN.com did not run any stories that seemed to have a unique edge to the story, something to make it stand out from every other news organization's coverage. It had an article that covered the various ceremonies and rememberances taking place throughout the day, and it also had a live feed to the ceremony taking place at Ground Zero, but these were things I found at most other news organization's websites.
The one piece that I did find interesting on CNN.coms homepage that offered a unique look at the anniversary was an article about how the Sunday Comics sections in newspapers would be honoring 9/11.
On September 12, CNN.com had all but moved on from 9/11 anniversary coverage, with an article about the Ground Zero memorial opening to the public, and a general recap of the previous day's happenings.
A story on Monday, the main story on the homepage, stated "Why Muslims are Still Mad at America." I was surprised by the timing of this story. While the 9/11 attacks were the responsibility of a small group of Muslim extremists, many in the country struggle to differentiate the two, especially in regards to 9/11.
A good illustration of that is all of the hoopla surrounding the proposed mosque and community center being built three blocks from Ground Zero, and all of the anger and resurfaced emotions that it brought forth. So for CNN to do a story the week of 9/11 about "them" being mad at "us" was surprising. However, what better time to talk about this difficult subject then when it has been brought to the forefront of our minds because of the anniversary. The nature of the tragedy (i.e. thousands were killed) would hopefully force us to speak in a respectful tone as well.
The website used its iReporters as well to tell several stories of religion, lost loved ones, and calls to serve.
CNN.com offered a unique perspective of that tragic day through the eyes of President Bush's personal photographer. CNN.com also did a piece on the Jay-Z album released the morning of September 11, 2001. Jay-Z's album hit first-week sales that albums by Bob Dylan and Mariah Carey didn't come close to, and the article takes a look at why this was the case.
On September 11, 2001, CNN.com's homepage was devoted to coverage of September 11, as could be expected. However, CNN.com did not run any stories that seemed to have a unique edge to the story, something to make it stand out from every other news organization's coverage. It had an article that covered the various ceremonies and rememberances taking place throughout the day, and it also had a live feed to the ceremony taking place at Ground Zero, but these were things I found at most other news organization's websites.
The one piece that I did find interesting on CNN.coms homepage that offered a unique look at the anniversary was an article about how the Sunday Comics sections in newspapers would be honoring 9/11.
On September 12, CNN.com had all but moved on from 9/11 anniversary coverage, with an article about the Ground Zero memorial opening to the public, and a general recap of the previous day's happenings.