H EADLINES
9/11 – Where Were You?
plaque that still hangs in our
offi ces.

Here’s a look at our
ANDY GOTLIEB | JE MANAGING EDITOR
memories of that fateful day 20
For those of certain gener- years ago.

ations, the Nov. 23, 1963,
assassination of President John Gabe Kahn, editor-in-chief
In the early hours of Sept.

F. Kennedy remained indelibly
11, 2001, I was still basking in
on their minds — years later,
the glow of a magical Sept. 10.

those alive then knew exactly
Twelve hours before the fi rst
where they were and what they
plane hit,
I was screaming myself
were doing when they fi rst
hoarse with
several friends at
heard the news.

Madison Square
Garden for a
Th e events of Sept. 11, 2001,
Michael Jackson
concert that
collectively known as 9/11,
was nothing
short of spectac-
mark a similar touchstone for
ular. Not
only did
MJ perform
diff erent generations, although
a slew
of his
biggest hits,
but a
there is some overlap for
wide array
of stars
took the
stage today’s older generations that
throughout the
evening. experienced both.

Luther Vandross was there.

Th e Jewish Exponent staff
did yeoman’s work that day, So was Gloria Gaynor, who sang
redoing the cover on a deadline her timeless anthem, “I Will
day to refl ect the day’s events Survive.” Usher had his own
and cobbling together several rendition of Jackson’s “Wanna
stories. Th at work was honored Be Startin’ Somethin.’” (At the
the following year by the time, I had no idea who Usher
Keystone Press Awards — a was.) Chris Tucker, fresh off his
L OCA L
mega-hit “Rush Hour 2,” did
a couple minutes of stand up.

When Elizabeth Taylor fi nally
introduced Michael, the reclu-
sive singer was accompanied
by Guns N’ Roses guitarist
Slash on “Beat It” and “Black
and White.”
Later Jackson brought up
his brothers, and they sang, “I
Want You Back,” their cheesy
dance moves the same as when
they performed on Th e Ed
Sullivan Show in 1969.

At the crack of dawn the
next morning, I was in my
black GEO Prizm reliving each
moment of the concert with
two friends as we drove back
to Boston, all of us groggy
but still on a high from our
shared seminal experience.

About 45 minutes from home,
my mom called with the news,
and what should have been one
of my greatest memories was
suddenly an ironic prelude to
the worst day of my life.

The cover of the Sept. 13, 2001 Jewish Exponent
Andy Gotlieb
I got off the subway at Fift h
and Market streets, heading
for my job as fi nance reporter
for the Philadelphia Business
Journal. I heard some chatter
on the street that a plane had
hit one of the Twin Towers,
but assumed that it was a small
plane and, thus, while sad,
wasn’t that big of a deal.

When I got to the
newsroom, the TV was on
and footage from the fi rst
tower was airing – only to be
interrupted by news that the
second tower was hit.

We watched in stunned
amazement for a few minutes,
then huddled as we fi gured out
how we would cover this. Not
long aft er that, we were told to
Photo by Andy Gotlieb
go home.

Given our
proximity to assorted historic sites,
“offi cials” — I can’t remember
if it was the Philadelphia Police
Department, city govern-
ment or a national agency
— thought Old City might
be a target because of the
historic and symbolic attrac-
tions and wanted to clear the
area. SEPTA was about to shut
down, so we all hightailed it
home, where I watched things
unfold for the rest of the day.

We were back in the offi ce the
next day, frantically working
any angle that seemed locally
relevant for Friday’s issue. And
9/11 stories dominated every-
one’s coverage for weeks and
months to follow.

See 9-11, Page 17
12 SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
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