Remembering 9/11 20 Years Later: FOX 29 employees reflect on career-changing day
PHILADELPHIA - Several of the employees from FOX 29 shared their experiences working on September 11th, 2001 and what that day was like for them as well as reflected on how it changed their lives 20 years later.
On September 11, 2001, several FOX 29 employees including anchors, reporters, editors, photographers, and producers had to decide how to cover what would be the biggest story of their careers.
Twenty years later some of those employees are still in the newsroom. These are their stories.
For Tom Beck, a photojournalist at FOX 29, September 11 began as a beautiful fall day. He was making kitchen for his two young children when the phone rang.
For Bryan Zilai, a photojournalist at FOX 29, September 11 was a special anniversary.
Dave Schratwieser, a reporter, remembers that the day began ordinarily as he went to get coffee. Then, he also received a phone call.
FOX 29's Mike Jerrick remembers the moment he was told they were going to punch up an image from New York as, at the time, they believed a small plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
FOX 29'S Jeff Cole remembers being in a coffee shop and seeing the first plane hit the tower.
Now, in the news industry many have what they call a "go bag" which is something that is ready to go as soon as big news breaks. Steve Keeley remembers grabbing his go bag and immediately heading towards New York.
That's when the big scramble began and everyone headed to the newsroom. It was pure chaos. That's when a second plane hit the second tower.
And that's when those in the newsroom new for sure that it was a terrorist attack.
"It was so surreal what was going on – the smoke coming from Lower Manhattan…. It was just almost impossible to believe what was going on. My stomach was up in my throat," recalled Dave Schratweiser.
From there, newsrooms across the nation moved into action to capture the stories and to report on September 11.
"I've never seen people so moved, so patriotic, so refusing to give up in my life," Dave Schratweiser explains.
"It was a life-changing moment for all of us," Mike Jerrick added.
September 11 reshaped all of our lives. Let us never forget.
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