US embassy cable - 01HARARE2682

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 
 
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    "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 
 
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