49 News employees recount Sept. 11
Topekans and 49 staffers offer unique perspective on national tragedy
10:50 p.m. Thursday, September 11, 2008
So many sat at work and were numb watching the coverage of Sept. 11.
But for an employee here at Channel 49, his work gave him a unique opportunity to help a victim.
49 ad exec Chris Thompson was working at the Sprint Call Center in Lawrence seven years ago. He went in on September 11th to work overtime, and was told he'd be working the phones. It wasn't his regular position, but he jumped right in.
"I got a call of a man who was in a building like a storefront or something . He said that the rubble had fallen on his building and he couldn't get out. I kept him on the phone and we called 911," Chris said. "Between me talking to him and him talking to somebody else, eventually they got him out. I think it took and hour and a half. "
Sophia Spencer's Sept. 11 memories
The media experience and emotional toll of Sept. 11 was intense, and I worked tirelessly. Here's a glimpse of what it was like for a reporter covering the United 93 crash in Shanksville, Pa. Read my blog here.
Chris was given an award for how he handled the call, but says he's just glad he had the training to be able to help in a time of national crisis.
Most Topekans we talked to were on their way to work when they heard the news of the Sept. 11 attacks.
We spoke to folks about where they were and how they responded to the terrible news.
"I just really didn't understand what was going on. Then I was scared and sad, and it just kept getting worse and worse as the day went on," Julie Tipton said.
"Everybody was pretty shook up, and a lot people were listening to the radios at that time. It had quite an effect on everybody for several days," Owen McCourt said.
"I was in South Carolina at basic training. We didn't really know a lot about what was going on. We didn't have access to newspapers or the news or TV, so everything was mostly from family phone calls or word of mouth or what our drill sergeants would tell us," Taneshia Horton said.
For those of us in the media, Sept. 11 has a very different perspective.
Sophia Spencer had just accepted a job in Johnstown, Pa., just 24 miles from where Flight 93 crashed. Her first day was September 17, 2001.
Her first live reports in news were covering the heroes of Flight 93.
She's written a blog about that experience and what it was like to meet the family members of these heroes.
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