Patty Davis has worked as a producer and correspondent for CNN since 1984. She has reported on a range of stories, including the Cuban economic crisis, Hurricane Floyd and the home run race between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. She is currently a general assignment correspondent at CNN's Washington bureau. Davis has also just surpassed the nine-month mark on her first pregnancy. Vision Editor Beth Iams talked to her about her perspective as a CNN reporter during the events of Sept. 11.
Were you in the office the morning of Sept. 11?
I was actually on vacation, running errands when I got the call from my boss: "A jumbo jet has just crashed into the World Trade Center. You need to get down here right away." Since I cover aviation for CNN, among other things, I knew I needed to be there. I was getting ready at home as fast as I could, I turned on CNN and watched the second plane hit the building. Live. And I knew right then this wasn't a plane crash story, but it was terrorism.
When I got to the office there were about 50 people in the newsroom all shouting, trying to mobilize. Then the assignment editor yelled "plane down by Pentagon! Plane down short of National." I looked over the horizon from my window, and there was just a huge plume of black smoke. And now it was a OD.C.' story too. CNN was a very loud place that day.
What did you do?
I started making phone calls to the [Federal Aviation Administration]. They were giving some information, but weren't really seeing the magnitude [of the crisis]. But, it was the FAA that had alerted the defense [department].
What was the mood in the newsroom?
This is the beauty of CNN. Everyone is so professional here during breaking news. Everyone was so focused on doing their job. People have a right to know what happened, and we needed to get out the information--how and when--as soon as we could. This was a national event, and through CNN, the television coverage served to unite Americans.
How did you reconcile your personal reaction with your professional role?
It was a delayed reaction on me. I was so focused on trying to get the information together and reported, it didn't really hit me until later in the week, [when] I started having trouble sleeping. I'm still having trouble. But when it's happening, you have to wall yourself off from it. You can't afford the time to be emotional.
What do you see as the role of CNN in crisis coverage?
This is definitely the danger of live, global television. There was concern during Kosovo and during the bombings of Iraq, where people worried about the "CNN factor" and if [Iraq] would know what [U.S. strategy] was planning based on CNN coverage. I don't know if the terrorists were planning for the cameras rolling when the second plane hit, but I guess this is just the nature of television today. I mean, the U.S. military gets information from CNN. Where do you draw the line?
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