On Sept. 11, 2001, after the deadliest terrorist attack on the U.S. in history, Variety reporters and editors swung into action to put out the daily paper.
This was the lede on the multi-bylined top story in the Sept. 12 edition of Daily Variety: “It was the day the world stopped. The real world and the play world.” Variety’s first print edition following the attacks ran 20 pages, mostly stocked with coverage of the day’s events and their aftershocks. The issue was fronted by a banner headline reading, “The Mourning After.”
The report in Daily Variety said “casualties from terrorist bombings were estimated at more than 10,000.” The death toll would later be revealed as lower than initial estimates: The Sept. 11 attacks killed 2,977 people, with 2,606 of those deaths at the World Trade Center towers.
Tim Gray, one of Variety’s managing editors at the time and now executive VP of the Golden Globes, said his main recollection was of the staff’s dedication. “Everyone seemed to be underwater, mentally, but came up with ideas for stories about how this affected film production, the TV schedule, the imminent Emmy Awards, etc.,” he said.
It happened from the moment staffers raced to the office that morning, knowing that day would be unlike any other they had experienced covering the business. Because of the time difference, reporters and editors in Los Angeles got to work early that morning and immediately began calling sources and figuring out how Hollywood and the entertainment business would be immediately impacted. Reporters worked on multiple stories at the same time, sharing bylines and contributing tags throughout the edition.
