I actually slept through 9/11.

That week in 2001, I was working nights at The Times Herald sports department in Olean. Since we published an afternoon paper, most of the staff worked morning shifts to put the paper out. I was the only person on the night shift those days. 

Once the scope of the day became clear, there was only one thing to do. 

Go to the newsroom. 

It’s what journalists do. 

I helped a bit with coverage of what was happening on campus. I worked a night shift and took the one high school result that night. The next day, I put all of our local stories on our website — the first time we had done that. 

I later learned that my now wife, working as a reporter at the Auburn Citizen, had the same instinct and did the same thing. 

News was breaking. We went to the newsroom. 

It’s what journalists do. 

Brian Moritz is an associate professor and director of online M.A. programs in sports journalism and digital journalism, in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University.

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