U.S. Attack !: American medias are shocked

This morning around 10.00 (4.00 am in New York), online editions of American newspapers were entitled with declarations of war. Medias even talk about a real terrorist “Pearl Harbour” with civilians as targets and the human disaster risks to be higher than in Pearl Harbour (2.400 victims at that time).

In order to try to understand what has happened, four online newspapers have used all of the range that is allowed by the Web: texts, pictures, and a lot of audio and video interviews. We find thus reports, interviews, analysis, etc, of what will remain as one of the most dramatic events in the history of the United-States. But most of the newspapers particularly focus on pictures with incredible photos of shells of the Twin Towers, of Manhattan streets covered with white dusts, of the burning Pentagon, etc.

In order to understand as well, many info-graphics which shows for instance how the two Boeings have smashed the towers, or lines that aircrafts were supposed to follow. As well, in English of course, audio interviews to listen to and a crowd of videos to see. For such a major event, the Net is particularly used to inform, by linking the paper, radio and TV press. Let’s see it.

- newyorktimes.com: "U.S. attacked” is the title of the great daily from New York which provides high quality interviews about the “terror attacks in New York”. To see also some hallucinating pictures, as they came out of catastrophic film that Hollywood is used to make. Analysis already set the problem: “the nation steps into a fight with an enemy which is hard to identify”.

- Washingtonpost.com: An amazing picture of the Boeing smashing the second tower of the World Trade Center and a main title about “the World Trade Center leveled and Pentagon hits in terrorist acts”? the famous Washington Post provides one of the most complete cover that you can find about this incredible event with videos, personalities interviews, analysis, photos and comments. Some titles among others: Bin Laden link probed; frantic call from the hi-jacked plane; the American public ready to take the risk of war; economy could suffer. To consult as well the exhaustive list of companies hosted in each of the two towers.

- USA Today: Aftermath of “Evil” is the title of USA Today. The daily provides reports and interviews according to each media: texts, pictures, graphics, audio and video. Other titles which sum up the vision of events by USA Today: the USA in red alert, Bin Laden suspect number 1, officials had warned.

- Chicago Tribune: The “paper” special edition entitles over eight columns “U.S. Under Attack” with a giant picture of the World Trade Center collapsing in an atomic cloud of dusts. In the online edition, the Chicago Tribune” insists on all the closures and cancellations (buildings, mall centers, theatres, administrative buildings, leisure parks) that have followed allo vger the country. Some significant titles: our nation saw “Evil”; we have experienced a national tragedy; Americans at terrorism’s mercy, engineers shocked by the collapse of the two towers, etc.

- The Mercury News: In the special edition of the San Jose Mercury, the newspaper of the Silicon Valley, one single word over eight columns: ATTACK ! with also a giant colour photo of the burning tower of the World Trade Center. The Mercury News, in its online edition about Bush’s oath to find those who are responsible and about the case of the other Boeing, which has missed the target thanks to resistance of passengers and staff.

- Salon.com: A vision of the disaster on Salon.com with a black and white picture of New Yorkers covered with dusts as they painfully walk on ruins. Some titles which sum up the vision of the online magazine: the new diversity of terrorism; this will be a long war; a presidential challenge; terror hits the U.S., etc.