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TV reporter rewatches his harrowing 9/11 tapes from the ground in Manhattan

ITV News

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Warning: This video contains original news footage from the 9/11 attacks, which some viewers may find distressing.

In this gripping episode of Reporting History, ITV News’s James Mates revisits his extraordinary coverage of 9/11, the deadliest terrorist attacks in modern history.

“An extraordinary stroke of luck” meant Mates was one of the very few TV correspondents able to be in Manhattan following the assault and collapse of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in 2001.

It came only hours after the US Correspondent had heard and witnessed the devastating impact of the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 being flown into the Pentagon in Washington, DC on September 11.

Revisiting his powerful archive reports with host Tom Bradby, Mates describes the challenges of capturing the devastation at Ground Zero while documenting the heroism of firefighters and passengers on board the fourth hijacked plane United 93.

The conversation also explores how 9/11 reshaped American foreign policy, beyond the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and altered the course of global politics as Mates describes the second lasting tragedy spawned from the attacks masterminded by Osama bin Laden.

Reporting History sees journalists join News At Ten anchor Tom Bradby to revisit their remarkable reports from the defining events of the modern age.

The guests reveal the drama that occurred off camera, from war reporting and frontline journalism to historic global events.

0:00 Intro
1:40 The attacks
6:06 Live reporting in Washington
8:10 James’s 9/11 report
17:30 Reaching Manhattan
20:20 The challenges of reporting near Ground Zero
22:40 James’s 9/12 report
31:00 George W Bush’s response
34:44 How the story evolved
40:32 James 9/13 report
44:48 How 9/11 changed America and the world
50:22 James’s 2011 report on bin Laden’s death

Warning: Contains strong language and distressing images.

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20 Comments

@M.E.M.O.10-50 2 weeks ago

Reserve a moment to be grateful to the people on that fourth plane who stopped it from reaching Washington.

@HeatherRose2023 3 weeks ago

When I watch these videos, I still feel the panic I felt that day. The body definitely remembers what the mind tries to forget.

@Caps888 3 weeks ago

This should be shown in journalism classes for generations to come. Amazing work.

@kunklejennifer 3 weeks ago

It's hard to believe that I was 25 on 9/11 and now I'm 50. Even though it was half a life ago it seems like yesterday.

@nancismith7705 3 weeks ago

My daughter went to work early near Wall Street to open the Business for her boss. I was on the phone with her much of the day as she made her way to the 59th Bridge to get back to Queens.She eventually died of Cancer and her husband got a settlement. I still miss her every day.

@marcotrujillo7364 3 weeks ago

The cry of terror of that TV journalist woman while the South Tower succumbs really made me cry, the human pain and horror cant be faked

@suewilkinson910 2 weeks ago

This is a very moving and reflective conversation about the horrors of 9/11. The best I've seen.

@GoodVibesx00 2 weeks ago

The image that will stick with me forever is those jumping to their deaths, rather than wait for the towers to collapse.

Just horrific.

@illhorse 2 weeks ago

This is reporting at its finest. I will never forget that awful day.

@amandaerdogar8380 3 weeks ago

It still seems so surreal, horrific, something you would see in a movie. Remembering all those who died 💔

@Rickyb-f5v 2 weeks ago

May all souls lost due to that devastating day R.I.P. I hope 9/11 is never forgotten 🙏

@danielleg1504 2 weeks ago

I’m Canadian, from southern Ontario, and I was in high school. I had gone to the washroom and, on my way back to class, saw it on the TV in the library and didn’t move for the rest of the day (at least to my memory)… absolutely glued, because the scope of the loss was inconceivable. ❤ Never forgotten.

@wilbertwolfs 3 weeks ago

I remember 9/11 like it happened yesterday. Devastating news.

@dawn_signal 2 weeks ago

As a father, I see these people losing their families and it breaks my heart. I think we should look at this as a reminder of what can happen, and to choose good. Be excellent to each other people. Be good to each other.

@debbiemitchell7983 2 weeks ago

His astute recognition at the end of this show that the US of today ....divided, fearful, reactive, retracting in on itself....is a victory for the terrorists of that day. A tragedy of choices.

@Greenpoloboy3 2 weeks ago

Always get chills seeing these scenes from the people being interviewed at the time, to the planes going in, to the towers burning and falling.

@bluwidow24 3 weeks ago

I lost my husband of 45 yrs 2 years ago next month. We watched 9/11 programs the anniversary week each yr. We were in NYC a few times and always went to the museum and asked every taxi driver, later Uber drivers and other people we encountered their experiences of 9/11. All New Yorkers have a story. Some are remarkable and they always seem pleased that we asked. Every fire station is a temple of heroes to me. Those men are noble heroes that should be honored every year.

@Ciemxi 2 weeks ago

I joined a company years after who had lost all staff located in the Tower, they were based on the upper floors. The UK staff who are still around remember how horrific it was knowing they were watching their US colleagues perish live on tv!