September 9, 2011

9/11 Remembrances

Amy Maclean, Editor in Chief of CableFAX Daily

CableFAX Daily asked several industry leaders about where they were on Sept 11, 2001. Their answers revealed not just their personal stories, but the stories of the industry. We also asked our own Amy Maclean, Editor in Chief of CableFAX Daily, to share her own reflections. More remembrances in the Sept 9 issue of CableFAX Daily and CableFAX.com.

"I was less than six month on the job with CableFAX, and it was only my second time visiting NYC. I was on my way to the NAMIC conference and saw the images of the first tower on the Jumbotron. The image was pulled, but there was still a small TV out front of ABC's production studio. I was standing with a construction worker watching it, when he started screaming, "Another plane hit the other one!" I argued that he was wrong and stood in horror as we watched the footage again and I realized he was right. Unsure what to do, I went on to the NAMIC conference, already underway. Only a few others in the crowd knew what had happened. Eventually, the conference was stopped and I learned about the Pentagon, which I was living only a mile away from at the time. Gasps and cries. A shaking woman ran up the aisle. I've often wondered who she was, and if whomever she was worried about was OK. This was my first industry conference, and I knew not a soul. But the person seated next to me, Chelsye Burrows of Starz, was so kind. We held hands and prayed, as NAMIC organizers put CNN on a large screen. Most of that day, I was alone in my hotel wishing I wasn't away from everyone I loved. I ventured out of my hotel around 7pm and saw someone rollerblading down the middle of Broadway. When I took the Amtrak home the next day, I could see smoldering remains of the Towers from my window. On the taxi ride from Union Station to my apartment, I passed the gaping, black hole in the Pentagon. Every year, when the NAMIC conference rolls around, I think of that day." -Amy Maclean    

If you would like to share your own reflections, please email CableFAX Community Editor Kaylee Hultgren at khultgren@accessintel.com or tweet them using #CableFAX.