ABSTRACT
September 11, 2001, presented American newsweeklies with a daunting challenge: How could they cover the news and convey the horror of attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, without further traumatizing citizens who had lost both loved ones and their sense of security in a few short hours? Their rhetorical task was complicated by the fact that footage of planes hitting buildings, and towers burning and collapsing, had been looped endlessly on television for days. Newsweek chose a fairly conventional cover, featuring small photos of the devastation bordering a larger image of firefighters raising the flag. The New Republic, in contrast, displayed a peaceful, lavender-hued photo dFigure 9.1), apparently taken at sunset sometime prior to the attack. The Statue of Liberty is foregrounded, the towers in the background. The caption? “It Happened Here.”
