THE AIRWAYS

Boston: hub of media coverage

By Don Aucoin and Suzanne Ryan, Globe Staff, 9/13/2001

oston was thrust into the glare of the national spotlight yesterday as the investigation of the worst terrorist attacks in US history shifted from New York and Washington to this city, bringing a crowd of media with it.

Meanwhile, public opinion spoke with many voices as area residents took to the radio airwaves and the Internet to express their anger, sorrow, and fear after the attacks.

The two hijacked planes that destroyed the World Trade Center on Tuesday had departed from Boston's Logan Airport. Yesterday, TV cameras followed the trail of investigators who were focusing their search for suspects and evidence on hotels in Boston and Newton.

CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC joined Boston news stations in televising a strange scene outside the Westin Hotel, amid reports that FBI agents had just stormed the hotel.

Outside, hundreds of onlookers milled around on the sidewalk in front of the Westin, which is at Copley Place. Several men waved to the cameras while talking on cellphones. ''Yeah, yeah, I'm in the front of it,'' Mark Setter, 35, of Brighton, said into his cellphone as three police cars, sirens blaring, roared past him on their way to the Westin. ''I'm to the right. I'm about five people in. You won't be able to see me. I'm not getting that close.''

As reporters and law enforcement officers each tried to do their respective jobs, nerves inevitably were frayed. At one point yesterday, when reporter David Boeri of WCVB-TV (Channel 5) attempted to broadcast from the middle of a street near the hotel, a police officer angrily confronted him and shouted: ''Do it over there!'' From the Channel 5 studio, anchor Natalie Jacobson advised Boeri, ''Don't tick him off, David. We'll get back to you later.''

Perhaps mindful of criticism aimed at the media during the shootings at Columbine High School two years ago, reporter Steve Cooper of WHDH-TV (Channel 7) expressed concern that the heavy TV presence might interfere with the investigation. ''We have to be careful what we say,'' he said outside the hotel. ''We're at the Westin; there could be people watching TV.''

With Logan Airport at the center of the investigation, the national networks also carried live coverage of a news conference featuring officials from the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Boston office of the FBI, and the State Police.

On local talk radio, Boston-area residents expressed outrage throughout the day. Predictably, some people called for a bombing of Afghanistan and an end to US support of Israel. Others vented anti-Arab sentiments.

Many people, however, wanted to discuss security at Logan Airport and their own personal stories. Renee, a caller on WQSX-FM (93.7), said her husband - whom she described as a telephone company employee - has walked into airport control rooms with no visible badge. No one challenged him. ''They need to say we have a problem with security. Let's say it,'' she said.

Rich, from Dorchester, told WQSX listeners that he once got on a Boston-bound airplane in Arizona with a rifle. ''I didn't have a firearm permit. All they said was I had to put it in a case. I'm just an average guy from Boston. Imagine if I was someone with a plan.''

On Boston.com, the Globe's Web site, J.K. from Somerville posted this message: ''I feel scared to walk outside, to use public transportation, and to be in a big city. Our sense of security is gone, but our freedom [will] never be taken away.''

Irene Sege of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.

This story ran on page A20 of the Boston Globe on 9/13/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.