The article I chose to read and evaluate was “I Saw it All. Then I Saw Nothing.” by Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal.
This is the best article I have ever read about the 9/11 attacks. Possibly the best news article I’ve read in general. Daniel Henninger tells his first hand account of what happened on that September Morning. It was written poetically and beautifully, staying away from standard boring reporter talk. It was an insight into what that day was like for a New Yorker. Everyone talked about how it was hard even for tough New Yorkers, but that meant absolutely nothing to me until I read this account of the attacks. It’s written as a narrative, not as an official statement or whatever. Henninger talks about the buildings that surrounded the area (the tuxedo shop where he was planning to get the tux for his sons weekend wedding, the bakery with the delicious cinnimon raisin croissants) and what they had meant to him and his colleagues before they were swallowed in the tragedy. He told us step by step about he and others running across the bridge from the black wall of smoke. His use of narrative made this story what it was. It was very powerful and made me think more about how horrible the attack was, even now, more than six years later. The article ends with him saying that he still looks to the place where the towers were and that he always sees “the same thing, which was nothing.” Beautifully written and very powerful.