Local Radio Remembers the Attacks in Words and Music

From a few minutes of silence to a week’s worth of in-depth reports, local radio stations are offering listeners a broad spectrum of programming to commemorate the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“This day, more than any other, is a moment for reflection--not only on what we’ve lost and how we’ve changed, but where we’re going,” said National Public Radio’s Neal Conan, who will co-anchor that network’s coverage for the day.

Starting at 5 a.m. on Sept. 11, NPR plans to supplement its lineup of news, analysis and call-in programs with live reports from ceremonies in New York City, at the Pentagon and at the Shanksville, Pa., crash site. In addition, Conan--who on weekdays is the host of NPR’s midday call-in show “Talk of the Nation”--will host a four-hour program in which callers and guests can discuss the importance of public mourning, and remember what they had done a year earlier.

Local public stations have much of their own special programming planned, as well, with KPCC-FM (89.3) featuring a week of in-depth reports, analyses and features.

Starting Tuesday and running through Sept. 10, public radio stations nationwide will air the series “Understanding America After 9/11.” In what they’re billing as a groundbreaking collaboration, KPCC has joined to produce the series with 10 other public radio outlets around the country, including WNYC in New York, WAMU in Washington, D.C., KQED in San Francisco, WBUR in Boston and Minnesota Public Radio. In addition to the big-picture view of national remembrance, the series will include stories from communities and individuals.

The series begins at 5 a.m. Tuesday with “American Muslims Organize,” the story of Muslim leaders in Southern California helping members of their community become more politically active and media-savvy. They have felt besieged and had their patriotism questioned since Sept. 11. The program repeats at 5 p.m.

Recounting Prejudice

At 9 a.m., “A Portrait of Hedab” is the half-hour audio diary of Hedab El Tarifi, a Palestinian American in Los Angeles who sorts through the prejudice she and friends have faced in the past year, and the changing role of Muslims in U.S. society.

At 9 p.m., an hourlong program titled “Defending the Future” will examine how America’s military has changed since the terrorist attacks, with musings from a range of people including Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, fighter pilots’ wives, a Navy doctor remembering the scene at the Pentagon fire, and green recruits anticipating combat.

“Days of Infamy” at 9 p.m. Wednesday focuses on the two times Library of Congress field workers interviewed Americans about their reactions to surprise attacks: after Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11.

Other programs in the days leading up to the anniversary--including a full schedule on Sept. 8--will examine the religious and moral questions raised by the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath, the views of a theologian and a business leader on how the nation and world have changed in the past year, the peace movement in post-Sept. 11 America, changing views of citizenship, as seen by diverse Californians, and the experiences of an L.A. bounty hunter who tracks down illegal aliens. The Sonic Memorial Project, a collaboration of NPR News and independent radio producers nationwide, will air remembrances, messages, poetry and music during NPR’s afternoon newsmagazine “All Things Considered” on Sept. 9, 10 and 11. The show airs weekdays on KPCC at 3 p.m. and KCRW-FM (89.9) at 4 p.m.

An hourlong special by the Sonic Memorial Project will also air Thursday at noon on KPCC, and Sept. 7, at 9 a.m. on KCRW. It will examine the little-known history of the World Trade Center, including stories about the Mohawk Indian steelworkers who built it, the “building stewardesses” who educated skeptical New Yorkers at the construction site as the huge towers went up, and of “Radio Row,” the neighborhood of decades-old electronics stores displaced by the new buildings.

KCRW and KPCC will both air a live call-in show at 10 a.m. on Sept. 7. “Living with Terror: The World Speaks a Year After 9/11” will allow callers from around the globe to discuss topics such as whether the war on terror can ever really be won, and how residents in Ireland and Israel have coped with terror.

A companion show, “Living With Terror: America Speaks,” at 10 a.m. the following day, will feature town-hall discussions from Los Angeles, Boston and Minneapolis-St. Paul on topics including whether heightened security measures undercut American freedoms, and why some people and governments elsewhere in the world hate the United States.

On KCRW on Sept. 11, “Which Way L.A.?” and “To the Point” host Warren Olney will look at the national mood and how life has changed in Southern California.

Even KCRW’s music programs will join the commemoration, with Nic Harcourt on “Morning Becomes Eclectic” and Jason Bentley in the evening on “Metropolis” playing special music.

Music stations are not leaving the memorials to the news and talk stations, by any means. Country station KZLA-FM (93.9) is slated to play versions of the national anthem at the top of each hour, and feature commentary by musicians and listeners alike, said Jimmy Steal, regional vice president for Emmis Communications, which owns KZLA. On its sister station KPWR-FM (105.9), morning host Big Boy will add his reflections to comments from listeners and hip-hop artists, Steal said.

“The overall tone is positive, reflective,” he said. Rather than revisit last year’s horror, “give thanks we live in a society where we’re free. The silver lining is, we live in the best country in the world.”

“It’s really important that each station reflect the vibe of what their audience is feeling,” no matter what the format, Steal said.

All eight of the local stations owned by Clear Channel Communications--ranging from Star 98.7 (KYSR-FM) to talk station KFI-AM (640)--will air two minutes of silence at 8:45 a.m., followed by a four-minute program featuring an interview with President Bush, which will also be played on Clear Channel’s 1,200 stations nationwide, according to company spokesman Bill Lewis.

“Our whole emphasis is going to be looking forward, rather than a retrospective of what happened on 9/11,” Lewis said, and will include specials from KFI reporter Laura Ingle from ground zero, and from KLAC-AM (570) morning man Gil Gross.

Fewer Commercials

KNX-AM (1070) will air the day’s news stories, as it always does--which on Sept. 11 will be heavy on memorials, speeches and other remembrances.

“We’re not changing the format of the station for the day,” said KNX news director Ed Pyle, like blocking off huge segments of time for events such as the reading of the terror victims’ names. But the station will have a bit more time to linger on presidential comments and other events.

“We’ll have a lighter commercial load than we usually do,” Pyle said. “It hasn’t been by our instigation. Some advertisers are shying away from the day.”

According to an Advertising Age magazine survey, 51% of consumers polled thought advertising would be inappropriate on Sept. 11, while only 34% thought it unnecessary for advertisers to back off. Pyle noted, however, that the fewer ads phenomenon seems more prevalent the farther east you go, closer to the scenes of the attacks.

“It has to be a special day,” said Jay Kernis, NPR’s senior vice president for programming. “It has to be the right balance of information and reflection.

“Radio may have an advantage on Sept. 11,” he said. “People know what the pictures look like, and many people don’t want to see the pictures again. This is providing an aural space where people can go remember if they want to remember, and connect with the rest of the country.”