Guest Speakers Discuss Media Coverage of 9/11 for 25th Anniversary

The Center for Media Ethics and Literacy in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media welcomed several guest speakers into classrooms in the days leading up to the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. School alumni, industry professionals and academics put the historic events into perspective for students who were not alive in 2001, so they could better understand media coverage, societal impact, personal experience and public memory.

"The anniversary of 9/11 gave the students the opportunity to learn firsthand how journalism and official communications helped the public comprehend an unimaginable national tragedy, even as the government and reporters were trying to understand it," SJSM director Bret Schulte said. "It's a rare to learn from alumni, journalists, historians and PR professionals who all have memories of a specific day and share a connection to campus."

New York award-winning photojournalist David Handschuh spoke with students over Zoom on Aug. 31. He is a former visiting Distinguished Professor of ethics for the School of Journalism and Strategic Media.

Handschuh spent much of his 30-year career at the New York Daily News. He covered the Sept. 11 attacks and was injured while photographing the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. He has since spoken widely about the ethical choices photojournalists face while covering trauma and is the co-author of National Media Guide for Emergency and Disaster Incidents, a handbook for journalists working alongside emergency responders.

"9/11 did not discriminate," Handschuh said. "It killed people of all backgrounds — Democrats and Republicans, gay and straight, Black and white and everything in between, from 70 different countries."

Former Arkansas Traveler editor-in-chief and SJSM alumna Alyson Low spoke with students over Zoom Sept. 1. She grew up in Batesville with her sister Sara Low, a U of A graduate who was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane flown into the World Trade Center.

After receiving a bachelor's degree from Hendrix College, Alyson Low attended the U of A for degrees in teaching (M.A.T.'99) and journalism (M.A.'00). Sara Low, who holds a degree in finance and real estate (B.S.B.A.'95), died at age 28. Authorities believe she coordinated with a fellow flight attendant to relay critical information from the airplane.

"I need people to understand the human aspect of the loss, and make sure that they never forget that it's not about numbers and not about statistics, it's about real people who had families and friends waiting for them," Alyson Low said to students during the Q&A portion of her presentation.

The school welcomed four more speakers on Sept. 10.

SJSM alumnus Michael Frazier (B.A.'01), executive vice president at public affairs firm SKDK, spoke with students over Zoom. He previously served as executive vice president and deputy director for external affairs at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

Frazier talked about his work in public relations following 9/11. He also discussed his experience working with victims' families, dignitaries, high-profile supporters, the press and others in the days leading up to the opening of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and beyond.

Michael Britt, CFO for Ozark-Ag, and Gina Shelton, director of the Center for Media Ethics and Literacy, discussed their experiences in Manhattan and the District of Columbia (respectively) with students and each other.

As a recent Walton College graduate, Britt (B.S.B.A.'97) was attending a conference with U of A interns in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. He recalled a post-apocalyptic atmosphere — empty streets, closed shops and military personnel. He quickly hopped on a Hudson River ferry boat to escape the area and later named one of his children Hudson, in honor of the river.

Shelton was an Associated Press reporter in Washington, D.C., who covered the aftermath of the attacks, including the U.S.' military and legal response. She said 9/11 changed her journalism career because it shifted her coverage toward terrorism, presidential power and government overreach.

Joel Gordon, a political and cultural historian of modern Egypt and the Middle East, discussed media coverage following 9/11. Gordon is a U of A professor in the Department of History and former director of the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies.

Gordon shared his experience of teaching at the U of A at the time of the attacks and said 9/11 has been a complicated event for journalists and historians. He used covers of the New Yorker to illustrate how the magazine responded to the events of the day and the ripple effects.

"These events gave a unique perspective to something that happened before most of us were born," said Isabel Salazar, a junior in SJSM and photo editor of The Razorback yearbook. "We've learned about 9/11 from history books, but having a variety of speakers who were in New York and Washington on that day made it feel more real."

About the Center for Media Ethics and Literacy: The Center for Media Ethics and Literacy provides resources, education and support for students, journalists and educators. The center's mission is to prepare students for challenges they will face in the real world as creators and consumers of media. By supplementing classroom training with expert-led programming, collaborating with SJSM professors on curricula and pushing for increased access to media ethics and literacy education at the U of A and beyond, the center moves toward its vision of building a generation of professionals who engage critically with the media they consume and act ethically in the work they do.

About the School of Journalism and Strategic Media: The School of Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Arkansas offers full-time and part-time degree programs for undergraduates as well as a graduate master's degree program. SJSM students major in journalism or advertising and public relations, and they receive instruction, guidance and access to hands-on experience from seasoned, award-winning faculty and staff. The school is dedicated to excellence in teaching, research and media literacy. The U of A journalism program was established by Walter J. Lemke in 1930. Visit the school's website for more information.