A jolting lesson in journalism
Titan staffers set the bar high covering

Words still fail as we struggle to make sense of our nation s Sept. 11 tragedy. For the faculty members among us who remember vividly traumatic events like the Cuban missile crisis, the Kennedy and King assassinations, and the Shuttle explosion, this life-shattering incident seemed all too horribly familiar.

However, to most of our students, such news was rare and highly disturbing. That makes what some of these students accomplished even more remarkable.That same terrible day, while an inferno raged in the collapsed twin towers, Daily Titan staffers, shaken but resolved, moved into action.

Within hours they had organized themselves into a news machine consulting with faculty, planning their coverage, and bearing down on the job. And what a job they did. By early afternoon word came that Governor Davis had ordered all state offices closed, including the 23 Cal State campuses.

Undeterred, these young but very legitimate members of the media labored on through the afternoon and evening, rising to a challenge unimagined hours earlier. In reacting to an unthinkable event by putting emotions aside if only briefly to cover a critical story, they passed the ultimate test of professionalism.

The shrill cacophony of national media sensationalism, flashy graphics, and endlessly repetitive talkinghead chatter in the weeks that follow only heightens our appreciation of what these students accomplished.

Titan adviser Jeff Brody s crew produced a serious piece of journalism, thoroughly covering the local and regional angles, surveying student and faculty reaction, and thereby serving their readers exceedingly well. Many of their professional counterparts would do well to match the standard they set that day. (For a better look at their efforts, visit the Daily Titan Interactive archives at
http://dailytitan.fullerton.edu).