'We were also viewers': On Sept. 11, L.A. news anchors had to balance fear and duty

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Set us as preferred Pat Harvey of CBS LA News had only been talking about her memories of Sept.11, 2001, for a few minutes when she made a surprise confession.

“I’m actually shaking a little bit right now,” said Harvey, her voice dropping a bit.“It was absolutely horrible.

It’s hard to put into words.”Harvey, who anchors the late evening and 11 p.m.newscast, was recently describing her recollections of that historic day after being awakened by a phone call from her husband and learning that two planes flown by terrorists had crashed into the World Trade Center.

She is not alone in feeling emotional as the nation observes the 25th anniversary of the attack.Two other veteran TV anchors working that day — NBC4’s Colleen Williams and former Fox 11 “Good Day L.A.” anchor Steve Edwards — are also haunted by their memories of rushing to their respective newsrooms to cover an unprecedented event.“Everyone at the station had the same face — a shocked face, almost hollow,” said Williams, who currently anchors KNBC’s 5 p.m.

and 11 p.m.newscasts.

“We just couldn’t comprehend the enormity of it.There was some comfort in watching it as a group.

But not much.”“There’s really no comparison to whatever events I had covered before — all other moments fail,” said Edwards, who left Fox 11 in 2017 and currently hosts the “So Unanchored” podcast with former “Good Day L.A.” colleagues Dorothy Lucey and Jillian Barberie.In separate interviews, the three journalists detailed how they handled their duties and serving their viewers while also dealing with their own personal fears, including worries that family members might be in harm’s way.

“It’s a very pleasant job, but at a moment like this, you’re covering one of the most horrific events ever, and humility comes,” said Edwards.“Y...