Boston Marathon Bombing - H 2013
John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesThe day after two bombs derailed the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring more than 150 people, coverage of the attack led network morning show broadcasts.
Today, Good Morning America and CBS This Morning were all stationed at the corner of Arlington and Boylston streets, the scene of Monday’s incident. Today’s Matt Lauer interviewed an ER doctor who had been at the finish line when the first bomb went off.
“I realized that all the people to what had been to my left had gone down, and just started helping with the other bystanders, pulling people, actually, apart because they were laying in a pile, basically with mangled limbs and started working on each person as you could,” said Dr. Allan Pinter, who praised volunteers who immediately began helping out.
The NBC program’s Tuesday edition also included first-hand accounts from eyewitnesses — including a husband and wife who were both injured at the time of the explosions — and there was scheduled a segment on how to explain a tragedy such as this to children.
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Also reporting from the shaken city: Good Morning America‘s George Stephanopoulos and Josh Elliott as well as ABC News’ chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross and chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz. Meanwhile, CBS This Morning had Norah O’Donnell co-anchoring from Boston and also dispatched special correspondents Jeff Glor, Elaine Quijano, Terrell Brown and Don Dahler.
At home base in New York, Charlie Rose spoke with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani about the bombings. “Can’t stop life as we know it, otherwise these people win,” said Giuliani.
(On Tuesday night, Scott Pelley will anchor the CBS Evening News in Boston. And on the cable news front, CNN has 17 anchors and correspondents on the ground including Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer. As for MSBNC’s Rachel Maddow, she left her 30 Rock headquarters Monday afternoon with neither toothbrush nor a change of clothes to report in front of Massachussetts General Hospital. She’s now back in New York.)
Over on GMA, Stephanopoulos interviewed Bill Iffrig, the 78-year-old runner knocked over by the blast just paces away from the finish line. “My whole body was just crumpling,” he said. “I thought this was going to be it. I thought this was my last trip. I had no idea what was going on.”
All networks cut to a live press conference from Boston’s Westin Hotel in the 9 a.m. hour that included briefings from Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Massachussetts Governor Deval Patrick and Senator Elizabeth Warren as well as U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz and police officials.
“Everyone should expect continued heightened police presence … The investigation continues,” said Patrick, handing the podium to Menino, who remarked: “This is a tragedy but Boston is a strong city. We’ll get through this.”
Marisa Guthrie contributed to this report.
