Twenty-five years after September 11, Sandra Sully is revisiting the night she broke the news of the attacks to Australian viewers, as 10 looks back at the historic broadcast in a special edition of the Late News tonight.
Sully was presenting Network 10’s Late News in Sydney as the attacks unfolded, with the newsroom virtually empty and international news wires effectively frozen.
In a video shared by 10 ahead of tonight’s special, Sully reflects on the uncertainty inside the newsroom as the first reports came through, with no one knowing exactly what they were witnessing.
“When the first plane hit, we didn’t know what we were looking at.”
The second aircraft hitting the South Tower changed that, with Sully saying she knew instantly the attack was deliberate.
As the scale of the story continued to unfold, Sully recalls her producer running from the control room and giving her a simple instruction while he worked to bring people back into the newsroom.
“Keep on talking.”
Sully then asked for CNN’s off-air feed to be put directly into her earpiece, allowing her to listen to the information as it emerged and make sense of the unfolding events for Australian viewers.
The special will also revisit Network 10’s coverage from the night, including Michelle Stone reporting from New York and Deborah Knight in Washington.
Sully has also marked the 25th anniversary with an editorial for News Corp, reflecting on how dramatically the way Australians consume breaking news has changed since 2001.
In the editorial, Sully contrasts the lack of information available that night with the constant flow of content audiences now face through smartphones and social media.
“On September 11, our problem was too little information. Today, our problem is too much.”
She points to misinformation, AI-generated images, cloned voices and manipulated video, arguing that the fundamental responsibility of journalism remains unchanged despite the technology surrounding it.
Twenty-five years on, Sully also reflects on a generation that has grown up knowing September 11 as history, while continuing to live with the consequences of the attacks.
10 will revisit Sully’s coverage of September 11 in a special edition of the Late News tonight.
