From WNYC in New York, this is NPR's On the Media. I'm Bob Garfield.

And I'm Brooke Gladstone. It's often noted that the worst of times can be the best of times for news organizations.

On September 11th, nearly 80 million viewers watched primetime broadcast or cable. Untold numbers listened to the radio.

There was a stampede to newspaper and TV websites.

Americans were united by what they saw.

The entire building has just collapsed.

The whole side was collapsed.

The whole building has collapsed.

A survey conducted last November by the Pew Research Center for people in the press found that the news media were at last winning the respect of their audience.

Andrew Cohutt is the director of the Pew Center.

I think it's safe to say that it was the most positive review of the American news media that we've ever recorded and perhaps has ever been recorded in a public opinion

poll. The public had a great need to know and 80 to 90% said, boy, the news media has done a

great job in delivering this important story to us. 9-11, the day 9-11 was the defining moment

for my generation of journalists.

CNN Newsnight anchor Aaron Brown.

We had waited a long time, I think, for that moment.

Our generation had been defined by O.J. and Princess Diana.

And we proved that we were very much prepared to handle the biggest story of our lives.

I'm incredibly proud of my business on 9-11 and in the days and weeks and mostly the month afterwards.

The Pew Survey found the public also gave high marks to the media's patriotism,

and newsmakers and news watchers took note.

Advertisers threatened to pull ads from local news programs whose anchors declined

...