MEDIA REACTION TERROR ATTACKS IN THE U. S.;

UNCLAS HARARE 002682 SIPDIS AF/PD FOR COX, ROBERTSON, AF/S FOR KRAFT, AF/P, INR/R/MR, NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ZI PREL PHUM SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION TERROR ATTACKS IN THE U. S.; HARARE ¶1. THE TERRORIST ATTACKS IN THE UNITED STATES RECEIVED BLANKET COVERAGE IN BOTH THE PRINT AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA. THE STATE-FUNDED NATIONAL BROADCASTING TELEVISION STATION, ZTV 1, SUSPENDED NORMAL PROGRAMMING YESTERDAY (SEPTEMBER 11) AFTERNOON WHEN CABLE NEWS NETWORK STARTED AIRING FOOTAGE OF THE BREAKING NEWS. ALL FOUR STATE-FUNDED RADIO STATIONS FOLLOWED SUIT BY BROADCASTING, AT INTERVALS, EITHER BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION (BBC) OR VOICE OF AMERICA (VOA) REPORTS ABOUT THE ATTACKS. THE ATTACKS DOMINATED THE ZTV'S MAIN NEWS BULLETIN AT 2000 HOURS. THE STATION RELAYED LIVE CNN COVERAGE DURING THE BULLETIN AND SUBSEQUENT TELEVISION NEWS BROADCASTS. ¶2. WIRE SERVICE REPORTS ABOUT THE ATTACKS DOMINATED ALL SEPTEMBER 12 EDITIONS OF THE INDEPENDENT DAILY "THE DAILY NEWS" AND TWO GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED DAILIES "THE HERALD" AND THE "CHRONICLE." THE "DAILY NEWS" USED REUTER'S COPY AND PHOTOGRAPHS. THEY PRINTED THREE COLOR PICTURES OF THE TWIN TOWERS OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER COLLAPSING AFTER TWO PLANES CRASHED INTO THEM. "U. S. ATTACKED: THOUSAND FEARED DEAD," READ THE HEADLINE OF THE LEAD ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE "DAILY NEWS." THE NEWSPAPER ALSO CARRIED TWO ARTICLES ON PAGE FOUR UNDER HEADLINES "WORLD GOES ON ALERT," AND "HAMAS LEADER DENIES LINKS WITH U. S. ATTACKS." ¶3. USING AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE (AFP) WIRE COPY, THE UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 HARARE 02682 121221Z "HERALD" PRINTED ITS LEAD ARTICLE UNDER HEADLINE "TERROR ATTACKS IN U. S.: THOUSANDS FEARED DEAD: AIR TRAFFIC SUSPENDED." THE NEWSPAPER ALSO PRINTED AN AFP COLOR PICTURE OF A COMPOSITE IMAGE TAKEN OFF RUSSIAN NTV TELEVISION CHANNEL SHOWING A HIJACKED PLANE AS IT CRASHED INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IN NEW YORK. THE BROAD SHEET ALSO DEDICATED AN ENTIRE PAGE TO ANOTHER AFP ARTICLE AND THREE REUTERS ARTICLES ABOUT THE ATTACKS UNDER THE FOLLOWING HEADLINES: "ATTACKS ON U. ¶S. SHOCK WORLD," "PALESTINIANS GREET BOMBING NEWS WITH JUBILANT GUNFIRE," "GADAFFI OFFERS CONDOLENCES," AND "AFGHANISTAN ABSOLVES BIN LADEN," RESPECTIVELY. THE NEWSPAPER PRINTED, ON THE SAME PAGE, A BLACK AND WHITE AFP VIDEOGRAB OFF FRENCH TV CHANNEL TF1 SHOWING THE SOUTH TOWER OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER COLLAPSING. ¶4. ANOTHER GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED DAILY "THE CHRONICLE" PRINTED ITS LEAD ARTICLE UNDER HEADLINE "U. ¶S. UNDER SIEGE: WORST TERRORIST ATTACK SEND SHOCK WAVES AROUND WORLD." THE TABLOID USED AFP WIRE COPY AND PRINTED AN AFP COLOR PHOTOGRAPH ON PAGE ONE SHOWING SMOKE BILLOWING UP AFTER THE FIRST OF THE TWO TOWERS OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER COLLAPSING. THE NEWSPAPER ALSO DEDICATED A FULL INSIDE PAGE TO WIRE ARTICLES BY AFP ABOUT THE DISASTER AND TWO PICTURES OF THE TWIN TOWERS COLLAPSING AND A TELEVISION FRAME GRAB, COURTESY OF CNN, SHOWING SMOKE BILLOWING FROM THE PENTAGON IN WASHINGTON, DC. ¶5. THE ZIMBABWEAN MEDIA HAVE NOT YET OFFERED EDITORIAL COMMENT ON THE ATTACKS. WE WILL REPORT UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 04 HARARE 02682 121221Z ADDITIONAL COVERAGE AND REACTION AS IT OCCURS. ROTH UNCLASSIFIED >