Twenty-five years after September 11, Barbara Rozgonyi reflects on how the day changed community communications—and the enduring crisis communication lessons leaders need today.

Remembering September 11, 25 Years Later

Twenty-five years ago today, September 11, 2001, changed the lives of families, communities, and a nation.

It remains a day to remember the people who were lost, to honor survivors and first responders, and to recognize the lasting impact on those affected by the attacks and related illnesses.

For those of us who work in communications, the day also reinforced a lasting responsibility: when people are frightened, grieving, or uncertain, communication must be timely, accurate, compassionate, and human.

On this 25th anniversary, I am remembering one clear September morning, the school community I was serving, and the ways that experience reshaped my view of crisis communications. Read my past September 11 reflections.

How 9/11 Immediately Changed Community Communications

On September 9, 2001, we celebrated a child’s seventh birthday party. Walking down Michigan Avenue in Chicago beside eight ecstatic, effusively ebullient children, I remember thinking how carefree, jubilant, and fun life could be.

Two days later, the world would change: dramatically and forever.

On September 11, 2001, I got up and went through the usual motions of a working mother with three children—ages 12, 9, and 7—getting everyone off to school. My husband was away on business in Rotterdam, and I was excited to wear a new navy pantsuit to a meeting with our local school district about planning and photographing its annual report.

I remember marveling at how beautifully the day was beginning.

As we were leaving to walk my boys to school, the phone rang. A friend was calling with the first news about the attacks. I didn’t say anything to the boys, but I told her I would call back after I dropped them off.

Walking down our quiet, sunny street, the news felt surreal. How could a day seem so idyllic when the world was falling apart? I could think only about when and where the next attack might occur.

When I arrived at the school district headquarters, the staff was stunned and silent. We gathered around a radio, listening for updates and quietly considering how we would respond as communicators.

Every year on this day, I return to those first turbulent hours. I remember how fragile the world felt and how important it was for education communicators to be calm, clear, and caring.

We needed to find ways to communicate quickly, accurately, and effectively.

At the time, most community organizations, including schools, didn’t have email databases. They had phone numbers and postal addresses. The press could and would cover news, but on its deadline and in its voice. Producing a letter took time to write, print, copy, and mail.

Backpack communications was often the fastest and most reliable route to homes.

After 9/11, community organizations became more willing to collect email addresses, connect leaders online, and create communication networks that could relay urgent information or good news quickly.

As an early email adopter, I became an advocate and teacher for moving communications to digital channels that could reach the media, leadership, and the community at large.

The school district approved my proposal to develop an e-newsletter, initially for teachers and the press. Eventually, subscriptions opened to the public. I remain grateful to Mary Kay O’Grady for asking me to manage these projects for her team.

I did get to photograph the cover of the school district’s 2001 annual report. The original concept was an image of teachers gathered silently around a flagpole. I proposed another idea, and it was approved.

I photographed my son’s first-grade class releasing butterflies. After the butterflies flew off, I photographed fifth graders replanting a barren prairie patch.

Images from both scenes appeared in the annual report, carrying a community theme of new life and recovery.

What Crisis Communicators Can Carry Forward

Technology has changed dramatically since 2001.

We now have email, websites, text alerts, social platforms, messaging apps, video, and AI-enabled tools that can distribute information in seconds. Yet the essentials of trustworthy communication haven’t changed.

1. Prepare before the emergency

Build and regularly update a crisis communication plan that identifies decision-makers, spokespeople, approval processes, employee communications, media contacts, stakeholder channels, and backup systems.

2. Lead with verified facts and care

The first message doesn’t need to answer every question. It should acknowledge the situation, share what is known, explain what is being done, and tell people when they can expect another update.

3. Put people before reputation

In a crisis, audiences remember whether an organization showed empathy, responsibility, and respect, not simply how quickly it protected its brand.

4. Communicate directly with people affected

Don’t rely only on media coverage or social posts. Use the channels your employees, customers, families, partners, and community members actually rely on.

5. Listen as carefully as you speak

Monitor questions, misinformation, concerns, and emerging needs. Listening helps leaders respond with greater accuracy and humanity.

6. Practice for today’s communications environment

Test notification systems, website updates, social-media protocols, internal messaging, executive roles, and AI-use guidelines. A plan that hasn’t been rehearsed isn’t ready.

7. Build relationships in ordinary times

Trusted relationships with employees, community leaders, media contacts, partners, and stakeholders become especially important when information is incomplete, and emotions are high.

In an AI-enabled communications environment, speed is easier to achieve, but judgment, verification, empathy, and accountability remain human responsibilities.

2026 Update: Twenty-Five Years Later

The children who walked with me to school that morning are adults now.

Like so many people who were young in 2001, they remember the contrast between an ordinary, happy life before September 11 and the uncertainty that followed.

A quarter-century later, the need for responsive and healing communication is no less urgent. The channels are faster. The information environment is more crowded. Misinformation can travel widely before facts are confirmed.

But the central responsibility remains the same: help people understand what is happening, what they need to do, and that they are not alone.

Today, I remember those who were lost, the families and communities forever changed, the first responders and survivors, and all those whose health and lives have continued to be affected in the years since.

September 11 taught me that communication is not simply about distributing information. At its best, it is an act of service: clear, caring, credible, and centered on people.

What has September 11 taught you about caring for the people and communities you serve?

About Barbara Rozgonyi

Barbara Rozgonyi is an international keynote speaker, Visibility Architect™, and creator of Brighter Presence™. She works with leaders, organizations, and experts to communicate with greater clarity, credibility, and human connection in an AI-powered world.

As the founder of CoryWest Media and publisher of WIRED PR WORKS, Barbara brings together experience in public relations, leadership communication, personal branding, thought leadership, and AI visibility. Through keynotes, workshops, and advisory work, she helps people build trust, share ideas that matter, and lead with a brighter presence.

Learn more about Barbara’s speaking and advisory work at
BarbaraRozgonyi.com
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