This is a portion of the article I read this morning (I deleted the name).
"Listen, this is ******," the Port Authority construction inspector says. "I'm on the 78th floor. I'm trapped in the elevator. Water and debris is coming down. ... Please send somebody to open the doors."

The transcripts also detailed the frenzy of phone calls that followed the terrorist attack on the trade center: Trapped workers begging for an escape route from its 106th-floor restaurant. Anguished wives desperately seeking lost husbands. Screams and sirens echoing in the background as bodies dropped from the sky.

Many callers were inaudible, yet the horror and hysteria of the September morning jumps off the typed pages.

"Yo, I've got dozens of bodies, people just jumping from the top of the building onto ... in front of 1 World Trade," says a male caller. "People. Bodies are just coming from out of the sky ... up top of the building."

"Bodies?" replies a female operator.


What do you think of the transcripts of 9/11 being released by the Port Authority? I missed the reason why they were made public, so if anyone knows, please post. I'm not sure what purpose it serves to relive that day and I can't imagine what it might be like for those directly involved. I watched Nightline last night and they had people reading parts of the transcripts in a monotone voice, and it still sent chills up my spine.

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, August 29, 2003 - 01:08 pm:

According to an article I found after a serious search on Google, a New York newspaper sued for the release of the transcripts, and a Federal judge ordered the release. I am only guessing, but I am guessing the lawsuit was based on the Freedom of Information Act, on the basis that these are public records or at least records obtained and maintained with public funds as these are the Port Authority transcripts and it is a public agency (many of the conversations transcribed are those of emergency personnel), or that the transcripts were made as part of the investigation(s) of 9/11 (some of which were federal) and are therefore subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

I have been hoping someone would raise this question since I heard about it on the news yesterday. Personally, I wish they had not been released like this, or that at least the family members of the individuals in specific conversations had a right to object. Along those lines, I really hate the news interviews with family members of victims - how did you feel, etc.

I cherish the First Amendment, and believe that the work of news organizations and their exercise of First Amendment rights have uncovered many scandals and other issues that powerful people would rather have kept secret. But I do wish that news organizations would exercise a modicum of what I think of as "good taste" and respect for victims of violence and their families.

As the old saying goes, just because you can do something doesn't mean you have to (or should).

By Bea on Friday, August 29, 2003 - 01:42 pm:

If there were enough of us, and everyone who objected to this assault on the privacy of the victim's families, showed their objections, maybe this sort of thing would stop. Don't watch the newscast, and write and tell them why. Don't read the newspaper accounts, and write and tell them why. As long as the public wallows in this sort of vicarious thrill seeking, the media will pander to their tastes. Unfortunately, there are more that beg for this sort of sleaze, than those who feel dirtied by it. The bottom line is the money it brings in.

By Jtw on Friday, August 29, 2003 - 05:24 pm:

I agree! I think the media is just doing it for ratings. It is kind of like a car accident. Even though you don't want to see it, you can't help but look. Why is that? I don't like it at all. I don't personally know anyone who lost anyone in the attacks, but I can guess that they don't want to have to start seeing it on TV everyday again. Grief is a long hard process. How is anyone supposed to get over it when they keep reminding us about it? I remember during that week the newscasters kept saying things like, "These are images that will be burned into our memories forever." Then DH and I would joke, "but just in case they aren't let's play them again!" because they just kept showing it over and over again. UGH! I couldn't watch TV after a while. I hope they show some respect for those involved and keep the show to a minimum.

By Clair~moderator on Friday, August 29, 2003 - 08:18 pm:

I don't plan on reading them.

By Hol on Friday, August 29, 2003 - 10:16 pm:

As the second anniversary approaches, we need to continue to pray for the ones who were lost, and those left behind. It is a somber time, and reliving the gruesome details serves no purpose.

By Colette on Saturday, August 30, 2003 - 05:46 pm:

I think it is important to be reminded of the horror of that day. I don't think it should fade as time goes on, it forever changed our lives and the history of the United States. However, I do not think they should have been released without the consent of family members.