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** OPINION
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** The stories of 9/11, 25 years later
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The Tribute in Light is tested this week over the skyline of Lower Manhattan. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

It was 25 years ago — Sept. 11, 2001 — when the world changed.

A routine late summer Tuesday morning turned into a nightmare as we watched in disbelief while smoke billowed out from both of Manhattan’s Twin Towers after planes were deliberately flown into them.

Just as we wrapped our brains around the reality that America was under attack, we learned of two more hijacked planes — one that flew into the Pentagon in Washington and another sent hurtling into the ground in rural Pennsylvania after passengers and crew members fought back against the hijackers.

To this day, those of us old enough to remember will never forget — where we were, what we felt and how we knew nothing would ever be the same again.

A new Ipsos poll ([link removed]) found that three in four (75%) Americans report they remember where they were when they heard news about the attacks.

In addition, when asked what the most important historic events were in their lifetime, 47% cite the 9/11 attacks, with the COVID-19 pandemic a distant second (31%).

The Associated Press’ Linley Sanders and Jennifer Peltz wrote ([link removed]) , “The polling points to the enduring legacy of 9/11 ([link removed]) , even as many Americans today are too young to have experienced or comprehended the event a quarter century ago. Ipsos found that the vast majority of Americans remember where they were when they heard about the attacks, and about two-thirds of Americans say it impacted the country ‘a great deal.’ Separate polling from Gallup ([link removed]) finds about 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they permanently changed the way they live their lives because of the attacks.”

As we remember one of the darkest days in American history, here are a few notable stories marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11:
* The Associated Press’ Joseph Frederick, David R. Martin and Leah Willingham with “Associated Press journalists who witnessed Sept. 11 remember what they saw, 25 years later.” ([link removed])
* CBS News with “Remembering 9/11 — 25 years later.” ([link removed])
* The Wall Street Journal’s Lynn Cook with “The Long Shadow of 9/11, Told Through the WSJ Archive.” ([link removed])
* For Vanity Fair, David Friend with “9/11 Changed the World in Many Ways. It Also Spawned the Digital Media Era.” ([link removed])
* The Los Angeles Times’ Stephen Battaglio with “25 years on, they haven’t forgotten. How 9/11 changed these TV journalists’ lives.” ([link removed])
* Former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote this for The Atlantic: “What the Aftermath of 9/11 Taught Me.” ([link removed]) Clinton wrote, “Twenty-five years after 9/11, much has been written about that horrific day and its aftermath: the 2,753 lives lost when the buildings fell, the heroism of those who ran toward danger, and the extraordinary resilience of a city and the mistakes of a country under attack. I want to tell a different part of the story — one that’s still coming into focus even now, as New York City makes 170,000 pages of documents related to air quality in the days after the attacks available for the first time. It’s the story of the people who survived 9/11 and those who went to Ground Zero to help, many of whom would pay a terrible price in the years that followed. It’s also a story about what happens when government fails the people it is supposed to serve
— and what it takes to make government work.”
* Speaking of Clinton, here’s a clip ([link removed]) from her appearance on Thursday morning’s “Morning Joe” on MS NOW.
* Also in The Atlantic, David A. Graham with “What the Failure to Convict the Alleged 9/11 Mastermind Reveals.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times ran letters from readers offering their reflections on the terrorist attacks: “Marking 9/11: Remembrance and Resilience.” ([link removed])
* And this from The Washington Post: “‘This city mourned together’: How Post readers remember 9/11.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Katherine Rosman with “He Lost His Mother on 9/11. He Grew Up in Her Childhood Bedroom.” ([link removed])
* The Washington Post’s Maggie Penman with “They survived 9/11. Then they devoted their lives to helping others.” ([link removed])
* My Poynter colleague, Kelly McBride, with her NPR public editor’s column: “NPR transformed the way it covered news on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.” ([link removed])
* For The New York Times, Elian Peltier (with photographs by Tomás Munita) with “25 Years After 9/11, Al Qaeda Still Has a Home in Afghanistan.” ([link removed])


** Kimmel and the FCC
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ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel interviewed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico on Thursday. But the interview did not air on the regular “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Instead, it was streamed on the show’s YouTube channel.

The reason, according to Kimmel? The FCC. Kimmel explained the situation during his monologue on Wednesday’s show. He talked about all the interviews he has done in the past with those running for office — from Hillary Clinton to Ted Cruz to Donald Trump.

Then Kimmel said, “Now that (Trump is) president, his FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates (and) our local stations based on simple traditional editorial decisions, guest bookings, it would seem, (that) they don’t like.”

Kimmel continued, “Out of consideration for our local stations, especially our ABC affiliates in Texas who would have to deal with this nonsense, my interview tomorrow with James Talarico will not air on television. It will be posted on YouTube instead. It will not be on TV. So if you want to learn about a candidate for the Senate tomorrow, you will have to go to the ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ YouTube channel, where you will see it in its entirety. And thank goodness we have that because in the America we live in right now, that is the best that we can do until November.”

Talarico is in a tight race with Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

However, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told USA Today’s Brendan Morrow ([link removed]) in a statement, “Jimmy Kimmel is play-acting — as he often does — to create a false narrative about this administration's policies. Chairman Carr has not threatened him regarding interviewing James Talarico, or any other candidate. Any media outlet blindly amplifying Kimmel’s egocentric delusion should insist on proof. Of which they will find none.”

Then again, this isn’t the first time a late-night interview with Talarico has been an issue. Last February, former CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert said the network’s attorneys told him he could not have Talarico on his show. At the time, Talarico was running in a primary against Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Colbert said CBS was worried the Talarico interview might violate the equal-time rule, which requires broadcast networks to provide equal time to all candidates in an election. Historically, late-night talk shows have been exempt from the equal-time rule, but Colbert alleged CBS was spooked after the FCC looked into ABC’s “The View” for interviewing Talarico.

So Colbert’s interview with Talarico also landed on YouTube.


** McClatchy layoffs
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Really grim journalism news on Thursday as McClatchy executed its most severe layoffs in years.

In a story for Poynter ([link removed]) , my colleague Angela Fu wrote, “More than 90 journalists across the country were affected, according to estimates by the unions representing journalists at various papers owned by McClatchy, which is owned by private investment firm Chatham Asset Management. The cuts included reporters, photographers and videographers and affected coverage ranging from government and education to accountability to sports. At least 13 papers across eight states lost staff.”

The Miami Herald was hit particularly hard: 20 journalists were laid off and 10 vacant positions were eliminated. Herald deputy investigations editor Carol Marbin Miller told Fu that the paper lost its city of Miami and city of Miami Beach beats.

Marbin Miller added, “Now, they can move chess pieces around, but how do you do that when you have no chess pieces left? As I understand it, this would be 30 overall slots (eliminated) in a newsroom that was already under 80 positions. So if this is accurate, we’re looking at a job loss of greater than 30%.”

Fu wrote, “When Marbin Miller first joined the Herald in 2000, the newsroom had roughly 300 journalists. With the layoffs and eliminated vacant positions, it will have fewer than 50 — a blow to the city’s largest media outlet.”

Marbin Miller said, “Right now we are circling the drain, and that scares the hell out of me.”

Check out Fu’s story for more details on the other McClatchy papers that were hit.


** Media news, tidbits and interesting links for your weekend review
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* And even more depressing layoff news from my Poynter colleague, Angela Fu: “Seven months after its new chairman called layoffs a ‘bad’ word, Lee Enterprises cuts staff.” ([link removed])
* Maria Bartiromo made her first public comments since parting ways with Fox News. (Status’ Oliver Darcy reported she was fired for revealing company directives to the White House; Bartiromo’s representatives say she was not fired.) Anyway, she really didn’t say much. She posted a photo on X ([link removed]) of a rainbow breaking through clouds over a large body of water and wrote, “Thank you to all friends & followers for your amazing words I am so grateful for the outpouring of love on SM & texts. I love you all. here's a great shot of the (rainbow emoji) breaking through, I snapped the other day. More to come.”
* Mediaite, the site founded by Dan Abrams that covers media news, announced the hiring of two columnists: Ana Marie Cox and Brad Slager. Cox, who leans liberal, previously wrote columns for The New York Times Magazine and was a Washington correspondent for GQ and a contributing editor to The New Republic. Slager has already started, having written several columns. Mediaite describes him as “one of the Right’s most prolific media critics.” Mediaite’s Joe DePaolo has more on the new hires ([link removed]) .
* ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap pays tribute to longtime ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose in this touching piece ([link removed]) . Melrose, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2023, passed away Wednesday at the age of 70. He was immensely popular in the hockey community and especially at ESPN. Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder also has more with “ESPN colleagues pay tribute to Barry Melrose as ‘the best of us.’” ([link removed])
* The latest episode of the “Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch” ([link removed]) features an interview with former ESPN host Suzy Kolber, who talks in detail for the first time about being let go by ESPN in 2023 after 27 years.
* Finally, today, a correction. In Thursday’s newsletter, I wrote about the infamous story planted in the New York Post in 1991 that said Johnny Carson was on his way as host of “The Tonight Show.” I wrote that Rupert Murdoch owned the Post then. However, an astute reader named Matthew Pressman — who has a book coming out next month called “The People's Paper. The Rise and Fall of the New York Daily News” ([link removed]) — noted that Murdoch owned the paper from 1976 until 1988, when he was forced to sell due to FCC rules prohibiting ownership of a TV station and newspaper in the same market. He then reacquired the Post in 1993 when the FCC waived that rule. So, Murdoch was not the owner when the Carson story ran in 1991.


** More resources for journalists
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* Strengthen your investigative reporting with Will Work for Impact: Fundamentals of Investigative Journalism from Oct. 2-Nov. 3, 2026. Enroll now. ([link removed])
* Join a free Poynter webinar on Covering Immigration with Care on Oct. 21 that gives practical guidance on trauma-informed interviewing, ethical storytelling and reporting beyond crisis-driven narratives. Enroll now. ([link removed])
* Find your voice in our free, four-day writing workshop for journalists of color. Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Power of Diverse Voices with expert coaching, immersive learning and a supportive community. Apply ([link removed]) by Sept. 18.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

The Poynter Report is your daily dive into the world of media, packed with the latest news and insights. Get it delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday by signing up here ([link removed]) . And don’t forget to tune into our biweekly podcast ([link removed]) for even more.
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