"All you could do for people was cover the stories of their loved ones who were lost. They wanted people to know about this person they loved so much, because they had nothing to show. No bodies. Nothing."
That is what MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski told Elle magazine this week about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And it remains as true today as it was in the immediate wake of the horror that unfolded on that day. To that end, as America approaches the 20th anniversary of the attacks, news organizations are rolling out special coverage plans to ensure that people #NeverForget one of the darkest days in US history.
Starting this weekend, and stretching until the next, networks will begin airing documentaries. Streamers will release specials. And online and in print, outlets will publish stories remembering those who were lost, telling the stories of heroes who served their country and communities, and outlining how the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives changed society forever.
A week of programming
>> Sunday, September 5: Photographer Richard Drew will talk with John Dickerson on "CBS This Morning" about the photo he took of a man falling from the World Trade Center. At 8 p.m. ET, CNN Films will air "9/11," followed by a 10pm special hosted by Victor Blackwell. Bill Hemmer will anchor a 10pm special on Fox called "Lost Calls of 9/11..."
>> Wednesday, September 8: NY1 will air "Twenty Years Later: Remembering September 11" at 8 p.m. That will be hosted by Pat Kiernan from the 9/11 Memorial Plaza...
>> Thursday, September 9: CNN will host a special "CITIZEN BY CNN" virtual event at 12 p.m. Dana Bash, Wolf Blitzer, Jim Sciutto, and Clarissa Ward will discuss 9/11 and the aftermath in Afghanistan. The MLB Network will air "Remembering the Game for New York" at 10 p.m. Discovery+ will make Jon Stewart's documentary available for streaming...
>> Friday, September 10: "Morning Joe" will air from Ground Zero and "Fox & Friends" will have Pete Hegseth in lower Manhattan. David Muir will broadcast "World News Tonight" from Ground Zero. Norah O'Donnell will interview Condoleezza Rice on the "CBS Evening News." Lester Holt will anchor a special "Dateline" at 10 p.m. ...
>> Saturday, September 11: Networks will air special programming throughout the morning, offering live coverage as the country marks the 20th year since the attacks. On NY1, six veteran journalists who covered the attacks will reflect on their experiences after coverage of the ceremony. Fox's "The Five" will air a special episode live from Citi Field before the Mets versus Yankees game. Jake Tapper will host a special, "Shine a Light," at 7 p.m. ...
>> Sunday, September 12: The 54th season premiere of "60 Minutes" will be "dedicated to the heroism of 9/11." CNN will air "America's Longest War," anchored by Jake Tapper, at 9 p.m. "Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11" will air on MSNBC at 10 p.m. ...
Special podcasts
>> Garrett Graf's "Long Shadow" examines "the questions that linger two decades later and the enduring mysteries that still surround 9/11..."
>> Aimy Gaines' "Weight of Dust" tells the story of her father Scott Gaines, who was a first responder on 9/11, who thought that when he retired "he'd escaped the aftermath unscathed..."
>> Michael Morell's "Intelligence Matters" features the former acting CIA director speaking with intel officials "as they reflect on their life, career and the critical roles they play in shaping national security policies..."
>> Latif Nasser "The Other Latif" features the RadioLab host discovering that he "shares his name with another man: Abdul Latif Nasser, detainee 244 at Guantanamo Bay." The discovery leads him down a "years-long investigation..."
"The ripple effects altered our lives"
The Washington Post Magazine's September 5 issue spotlights the different ways in which 9/11 changed American life. The magazine invited 23 writers and five artists to write about the "less-obvious" consequences the attacks prompted in the US and around the globe. "9/11 changed the world in demonstrable, massive and heartbreaking ways," the mag said. "But the ripple effects altered our lives in subtle, often-overlooked ways as well..."
A version of this article first appeared in the "Reliable Sources" newsletter. You can sign up for free right here.
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PHOTO ARCHIVE
Remembering 9/11 in photos
The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses on September 11, 2001 in New York City. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff)
People flee the scene near New York's World Trade Center after terrorists crashed two planes into the towers on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. In a horrific sequence of destruction, terrorists hijacked two airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center in a coordinated series of attacks that brought down the twin 110-story towers. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff)
Smoke rises at ground zero after the fall of the twin towers on September 11, 2001 in New York City.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
People flee lower Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, following a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. (AP Photo/Daniel Shanken)
EDITORS: NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT--- A person falls from the north tower of New York's World Trade Center, Sept. 11, 2001. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
New York Gov. George Pataki, left, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, center, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., tour the site of the World Trade Center disaster, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
In this September 11, 2001 photo, people walk over New York's Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn following the collapse of both World Trade Center towers. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
In this September 11, 2001 photo, people walk over New York's Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn following the collapse of both World Trade Center towers. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Smoke rises from north tower of the twin towers of the World Trade Center after a hijacked plane crashed into it on September 11, 2001.(AP Photo/Louis Lanzano)
In this September 13, 2001 photograph, a woman poses with a picture of a missing loved one who was last seen at the World Trade Center when it was attacked on September 11, 2001.(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Emergency crews arrive after the fall of the twin towers on September 11, 2001 in New York City.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
People flee the scene near New York's World Trade Center after terrorists crashed two planes into the towers on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. In a horrific sequence of destruction, terrorists hijacked two airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center in a coordinated series of attacks that brought down the twin 110-story towers. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff)
Cars are buried in rubble in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
A fire truck is buried under debris in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
Rubble-buried cars and a destroyed building in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
Flags and signs are displayed on Sept. 13, 2001 at a construction site near Times Square in New York City after the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Construction workers continue to clear the rubble at the site of the World Trade Center, destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, on September 15, 2001.(AP Photo/Charlie Krupa)
Emergency workers arrive at ground zero after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
An American flag at ground zero on the evening of Sept. 11, 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Demolition worker Steve Lebowski cuts away twisted beams which fell from the south tower of the World Trade Center into the upper levels of the Deutsche Bank building overlooking ground zero in December 2001. (AP Photo/Lisa Poseley)
A construction worker rests on Sept. 12, 2001 after a day of working at ground zero after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.(AP Photo/David Karp)
The New York City skyline on the evening of September 17, 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
In this Sept. 13, 2001 photograph, lit candles and flowers are placed at a memorial for the victims of the the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.(AP Photo/Diane Bondareff)
Pedestrians look at a memorial for firefighters who died in the September 11 World Trade Center attacks on September 14, 2001.(AP Photo/Charlie Krupa)
A destroyed Brooks Brothers store near ground zero on Sept. 11, 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
In this Sept. 13, 2001 photograph, a man sells American flags on a street corner after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
The "patio" of the Hard Hat Cafe at New York's Liberty and Church Streets, offered ground zero workers a respite from their recovery efforts in the fall of 2001. (AP Photo/Lisa Poseley)
Firemen gather on a debris-covered street after the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in New York City.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Emergency workers at ground zero on Sept. 11, 2001 after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
A destroyed fire truck on September 14, 2001 near ground zero after the September 11 attacks.(AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)
A collapsed building and a fire truck at ground zero on Sept. 12, 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
A fireman, covered in debris, rinses his eyes out after the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in New York City.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Debris fall from one of the burning twin towers of the World Trade Center after a hijacked plane crashed into the tower on September 11, 2001 in New York City.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
This is an undated photo taken by Joel Meyerowitz photographer who was granted unparalleled access to Ground Zero. Meyerowitz was able to photograph over 8,500 images from the site. (Ap Photo/Joel Meyerowitz)
The World Trade Center towers burn after being attacked by terrorists, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, in New York. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff)
Police officers help rinse a man's eyes after the fall of the twin towers on September 11, 2001 in New York City.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
Firefighters walk through the rubble in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
The north tower of the World Trade Center's twin towers burns after a hijacked plane crashed into it on September 11, 2001 in New York City.(AP Photo/Louis Lanzano)
A man cries on September 11, 2001 after witnessing the collapse of the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
A firefighter holds a shovel as he walks through the rubble in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
The twin towers of the World Trade Center burn after hijacked planes crashed into them on September 11, 2001 in New York City.(AP Photo/Louis Lanzano)
Firemen rest on Sept. 12, 2001 after a day of working at ground zero after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.(AP Photo/David Karp)
In this Sept. 14, 2001 photograph, a garbage worker passes by a memorial at a construction site in Times Square in New York City after the September 11 terrorist attacks.(AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
An ABC reporter in front of a car covered with posters of missing people from the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in NYC on Sept. 13, 2001.(AP Photo/David Karp)
Emergency workers near ground zero on September 11, 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Firefighters extinguish a fire in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
A steel cross, recovered from the World Trade Center debris, stands over New York's West St. in the fall of 2001, covered with signatures of the recovery workers and messages to victims. Since workers' schedules usually prevented them from attending church, services were held daily at the foot of the cross. (AP Photo/Lisa Poseley)
A flag flies at half-mast on September 18, 2001 after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Cars are buried under debris in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.(AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)
Smoke rises from the burning twin towers of the World Trade Center after hijacked planes crashed into the towers on September 11, 2001 in New York City.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)
In this September 15, 2001 photograph, a fireman washes his uniform with water after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
In this Sept. 11, 2001 photo, people walk to New York's Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn following the collapse of both World Trade Center towers. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2001 file photo, an American flag flies over the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center buildings in New York. For years, a handful of current and former American officials have been urging President Barrack Obama to release secret files that they believe document links between the government of Saudi Arabia and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Other officials, including the executive director of the 9-11 commission, have said the classified documents don’t prove that the Saudi government knew about or financed the attacks_and that making them public would fuel bogus conspiracy theories. (AP Photo/Beth A. Keiser, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, plumes of smoke rise from the World Trade Center buildings in New York. The Empire State building is seen in the foreground. For years, a handful of current and former American officials have been urging President Barrack Obama to release secret files that they believe document links between the government of Saudi Arabia and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Other officials, including the executive director of the 9-11 commission, have said the classified documents don’t prove that the Saudi government knew about or financed the attacks_and that making them public would fuel bogus conspiracy theories. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File)
A tow truck with the word "revenge" painted on the window drives on Hudson St. in New York Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001 near the World Trade Center. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
