Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Challenger explosion.
In the dying days of PMs newspapers, the Challenger explosion marked a last hurrah. Working at Belo’s chain of suburban Dallas daily PMers, this was the only time in my career where ‘stop the presses!’ was heard in the newsroom. I was a cub wire editor responsible for six daily papers. That morning, for some reason, I decided to listen quietly to the live radio broadcast of the launch. After a few seconds of stunned disbelief — and before the AP flash came in — told my bureau chief, who then gave the stop press order. We remade the front page of each paper and were the the first on the streets that afternoon with a print story and images from that terrible day.
What are your memories of this day? How did your newsroom respond? Share your comments!