It was the ultimate reality TV — and the most surreal.

        Millions of Americans in their homes and offices witnessed the first live telecast of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

        While watching TV pictures of flames roaring out of the north World Trade Center tower just after 9 a.m., viewers saw a passenger jet smash into the south tower.

        In the next 90 minutes, the national TV audience saw both 110-story landmarks buckle and crumble and the gaping hole ripped in the Pentagon by another hijacked jetliner.

        On Tuesday, television again pulled together the nation in a time of tragedy, providing indelible images and the latest information in a confusing crisis.

        We'll never forget seeing the twin towers collapse like giant sand castles. Or the thick clouds of white dust that made Manhattan streets look like a January blizzard.

        Or the sight of jubilant Palestinians dancing in Mideast streets on NBC after hearing news of the U.S. destruction.

        These images have been etched into our collective memories, along with TV scenes of the bombing of Baghdad, Neil Armstrong's footsteps on the Moon, the Challenger explosion, the death of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy's funeral.

        As is often the case with breaking news, TV pictures told a story that couldn't be explained immediately. Yet news anchors showed unusual restraint trying to make sense of it all.

        “The landscape of New York City has just been changed, and it has to be assumed that thousands of lives have been extinguished,” ABC's Peter Jennings said after the second tower disintegrated.

        “This is something that people never believed they would see in the U.S.”

        As CBS replayed video of the crash into the skyscraper, anchor Dan Rather said: “This is not a graphic. This is an actual photograph.”

        Early on, Mr.Rather told viewers that “if anyone's dead at the Pentagon, this is not known.” At another point, Mr.Rather asked viewers for forgiveness if CBS didn't get every fact right. “Frequently the early reports are wrong,” he said.

        When Mr. Jennings asked Pentagon correspondent John McWethy about possible fatalities, the reporter replied with rare candor: “I'm standing on a highway at this point. I'm not necessarily plugged in.”

        The networks showed the greatest restraint reporting the whereabouts of President George W. Bush Tuesday morning after he boarded Air Force One in Sarasota, Fla, in case terrorists were watching TV, too.

        When CNN's Judy Woodruff asked retired Gen. Wesley Clark, former NATO supreme commander, where the president would be taken in a crisis, he simply said: “Somewhere safe.”

        The president's stop at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana wasn't revealed until an hour after he landed. Networks didn't air his comments there until he had taken off again.

        White House correspondent Ann Compton was reporting live on ABC from the base when she abruptly announced that she had to go, prompting this exchange:

        Mr. Jennings: “Where are you going, Annie?”

        Ms. Compton: “Peter, I have no idea. They are quite worried about his own security.”

        The anchors' objectivity slipped when speculating on the impact of the attacks.

        “The response to this by the U.S. is going to have to be massive,” Mr. Jennings said.

        NBC's Tom Brokaw, author of three World War II books, called the attacks “a declaration of war.”

        “This is the second Pearl Harbor, I don't think you can overstate it,” Mr. Rather said.

        It was another day of infamy in U.S. history. And we watched it live on TV.

        John Kiesewetter is Enquirer TV critic.
       

Blood donors flood center
Text of President Bush's speech
Can it happen here?
City scenes of carnage and kindness
Clergy: Resist urge for vengeance
Could it ever happen here?
Facts about recent attacks
Famed towers became symbols of inhumanity
Fire led to collapse
Grief, fear take hold as calamity unfolds
Hebrew Union only local college to close
Local lawmakers add voices to chorus
Millions look to Internet for latest news
'Most horrific ... ever'
News can traumatize children
PULFER: Time to show our mettle
Pupils watch history unfold
RADEL: Attacks hit our hearts
Residents cautious after attacks
1,200 stuck at airport
Terrorists' hijackings explode myth that U.S. airports are secure
TV burned images into our collective conscience
Worried motorists make run on gas
Fuller beats Luken in primary
Voter turnout low following attacks
Byrd's execution delayed til Oct. 8
Carthage man pleads not guilty in wife's slaying death
Competency ruling delayed in Bryant case
CPS considers evening out money among its schools
Firefighter settles harassment suit
Reigniting the Comet spirit
UC hopes new logo serves as brand aid
Witness: Landfill costly to develop into home lots