Editorial: 9/11 coverage fails to commemorate victims

After 15 years, we still cannot escape the harrowing aftermath of 9/11.

On September 11, 2001, the United States lost 2,977 men, women and children in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The terrorist attack forever changed our country and the state of national security.

Yesterday’s 15-year anniversary gave us the chance to pause and reflect on how we want to remember the victims who were killed. It gave us the opportunity to celebrate the servicepeople who bravely helped the survivors to safety and to consider how the attacks affected our unity as a country. Furthermore, it served as an opportunity to assess the state of our continued engagement overseas and to acknowledge the way we handled and continue to handle the most prolific attack on American soil since the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

But judging by yesterday’s news coverage of 9/11, we as a country failed to properly commemorate the ones who were truly impacted by the historic event.

In the midst of a New York ceremony for the anniversary of 9/11, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton fainted and later announced she had been diagnosed with pneumonia. Online, calls for Clinton — and Republican nominee Donald Trump — to release detailed medical records drowned out tributes to 9/11 victims and survivors.

Yes, Clinton’s health scare is breaking news. But her pneumonia diagnosis is unrelated to the 9/11 memorial she was attending. The circus of this year’s election cycle twisted what was supposed to be a tribute to a tragic moment in American history into an opportunity to once again fuel the wildfire that is this presidential campaign.

Meanwhile, MSNBC broadcasted the gruesome 3 ½ hour footage of Sept. 11, 2001 on the Today show as it has done every year since the attack. The footage shows the live coverage of smoke encompassing the World Trade Center, families frantically running for help and a city in dark chaos after multiple terrorist attacks.

The annual tradition is marketed as a recognition of 9/11 that serves as a reminder of the tragedy. But let’s be honest, it’s a ratings grab. People will tune in, like rubberneckers passing a car crash on the highway, to watch the day’s terrifying events unfold. How can the haunting images of wounded citizens and a broken city on the screen benefit those who witnessed and lived through the event? Victims, survivors and relatives can easily be devastated by the coverage that can bring back traumatizing flashbacks. Younger generations who have not lived to see the attacks should watch the footage — it is a historical event, after all — but the benefits end there and people young enough to not remember Sept. 11 are certainly not the Today show’s target audience.

On Sunday, the media chose ratings over responsibility.

If we want to remind people what the country was like during and after 9/11, we should be focusing on the victims’ and survivors’ stories. We should be restoring humanity in a country that has used the event to divide, politicize and weaken its people.

Since we only spend one day a year honoring the people who died that day, it is our responsibility to do so the right way.

Next year, we should emphasize the firefighters, police, servicepeople, victims, survivors and families that all took part in healing our nation at its most vulnerable point.

Let’s give our attention to 9/11 victims with grace and integrity — not political distractions and shock value.