Editorial: 9/11 Photographers

Here's the 9/11 editorial I wrote for class last week :) I also added some pictures to illustrate my points.

Your opinions are appreciated!

As the World Trade Center collapsed, people fled as far as they could, oblivious that a small group of photographers were racing toward the dangerous scene with cameras dangling from the straps the way their lives dangled from a thin rope of fate.

Thanks to their bravery, the 9/11 tragedy spread from New York to other parts of the world in a series of pictures and videos. Those who weren’t in New York were still able to watch the horror unfold on their screens. The photographers had captured hell on earth and locked it into frozen evidence that would change American history forever.

Photographers are the eyes of the public; they aim to enlighten the public with the truth. However, not everyone realizes the big role the photographers played that day. These heroes were the ones who brought the darkness of the day to light. They voluntarily sacrificed their safety for the public. David Handschuh, a photographer from the Daily News was injured when debris from the tower crashed on him, breaking his legs. 


He never released his camera which had captured the full events of the disaster, from the thick dark smoke rising from the tower as a result of the plane crash to the panic-stricken faces of New Yorkers as they scrambled for safety. 

People tend to overlook the power vested in pictures. They also forget the individuals behind the photographs. Pictures are influential tools because they tend to have a stronger emotional effect on people; therefore pictures do speak louder than words. The infamous picture of the “Falling Man” taken by Richard Drew aroused discomfort and shock.

 It was a photograph of a man who had jumped from the North Tower of the World Trade Center after the plane crashed into it. He was tumbling through the air, just seconds away from his death. That picture didn’t need an article to explain what was going on; it was obvious that the jumper had chosen a quicker death against a slow, agonizing one in which he’d have to be burned alive. It’s sad to think that the last decision of his life was deciding how to die. The horror and desperation of the situation seeped into the hearts and minds of the viewers. The photograph had served its purpose.

Pictures of the 9/11 disaster reflected the true horror, shock and grief of the moment. There were snapshots of people crying on the streets, gripping photographs of their loved ones whom they’d lost in the attack. There were pictures of firefighters and police covered in debris as they emerged somberly from the rubble with dead bodies. These pictures were standalone evidence that a tragedy had struck; the photographers did a good job relating the truth of the moment to the public even after the moment had passed.

There were masses of videos on YouTube created as a tribute to the 9/11 attack which influenced the rest of the world. In the video entitled “I Believe”, a commentator in the background said that his brother was the captain of the American Airlines Flight 11 that was hijacked. “I keep looking at the cornfield behind me, hoping that my brother comes walking right out,” he said, his voice breaking. 9/11 never really died, it still lives in the hearts of many.

The photographers who risked their safety for the action should be remembered for their courage. They weren’t thinking about themselves as they ran out of their safe zones; they were thinking about the public. A decade from then, people still remember the horror of that day even though most of them weren’t there to witness it for ourselves. The pictures are proof that the tragedy really occurred, and the public just needs to remember the people responsible for the photographs.

This editorial is a tribute to the photographers of 9/11 who voluntarily sacrificed their safety for the public. These heroes deserve some credit too. When you see a photograph of the 9/11 tragedy, think of the photographer who braved his or her way to freeze it into an everlasting memory and be grateful that there are photographers out there who would go to great extremes for the public. That is the best way you can honor his or her effort. Thanks to the 9/11 photographers, the harshness of the disaster has melted into history that will always be remembered.