Daily News du lieu suivant : New York, New York • 43

I i 5 2 5 It II I i 5 i 1 i DAY OF -SH REMEMBRANCE i i. n. Tm, "i Lr False accounts taint stories i- 4 By PAUL D. COLFORD DAILY NEWS BUSINESS WRITER Many who watched ABC News coverage Thursday night went to bed believing a second wave of terrorists had been intercepted by authorities at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports. They woke up yesterday to the news that those detained after SWAT teams boarded their flights had been cleared of any ties to Tuesday's deadly attacks.

During first-day coverage Tuesday, CBS anchor Dan Rather trumpeted an exclusive by WCBS-TV reporter Marcia Kramer, who told viewers that police had stopped a car carrying explosives under the George Washington Bridge. Rather said there were enough explosives "to do great damage" to the span. But Tuesday night, Rather announced that "further checking on that story" showed other authorities knew nothing about it. "Maybe it's true and maybe it isn't," he added. Though no explosives were involved after all, Kramer noted in an update that the vehicle's occupants were detained.

Accounts from ABC's John Miller and Kramer, two veteran New York reporters who cited law enforcement sources, were not the only ones that sagged over time. In the fast-moving news coverage of the past week, a number of print and broadcast stories turned out to be a lot less than they first seemed. TERROR SUSPECTS ARRESTED," read the New York Post's front page yesterday. The Page 2 story said: "Another apparent kamikaze hijacking attempt was prevented at JFK Airport." "Some of it can be very dangerous and emotionally draining," Mayor Giuliani said yesterday, calling on the news media to take greater care in reporting on Tuesday's attacks and the ongoing dig through the World Trade Center rubble. Giuliani made specific reference to a false report that 10 or 15 people were still alive inside a damaged store in the Trade Center.

Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen also expressed concern about inaccurate information, singling out an uplifting report Thursday that five firefighters, trapped since Tuesday, had been found alive. It turned out they were rescue workers who had to be pulled out of a hole where they fell. "Everybody feels pressure to get the next thing on the air," a TV news producer said. And there's a lot more airtime to fill, as the broadcast and cable news networks have stuck with the story nonstop. During highly charged stretches such as this week, especially on TV, sources cited at one moment can be contradicted by other sources later.

In effect, viewers watch the processing of information, so the coverage at times has the feel of a work in progress, instead of a finished product. In an early exchange with ABC anchor Peter Jennings on Thursday evening, when airports again were shut because of security concerns, Miller introduced his report on the detention of two men at Kennedy Airport by saying, "we don't know exactly what it means." He added: "But the concern is that we're being probed again, that people are trying to pass themselves off as airline employees or crew members to get past security. And, of course, in this week, that's something that's making everybody nervous." "So two people arrested on the GW Bridge in a truck with explosives," Rather said, speaking in short-hand on the air Tuesday. "As this report now whether it was connected with the events of the day, we do not know. But an interesting report." i On Thursday, ABC's John Miller introduced a report on the detention of two men at Kennedy Airport by saying, "we don't know exactly what it means." iter's lot ff lash By PAUL a COLFORD DAILY NEWS BUSINESS WRITER If any reporter would seem to have had a competitive advantage this week, it's John Miller of ABC News.

After all, he used to be part of the New York Police Department, serving as deputy commissioner of public information when his friend William Bratton became commissioner in 1994. In addition, three years ago in Afghanistan, he interviewed Osama Bin Laden, the shadowy terrorist whom Secretary of State Powell linked to Tuesday's stunning Asked if he tried to develop chemical and nuclear weapons, Bin Laden told Miller: "If I seek to acquire such weapons, this is a religious duty. How we use them is up to us." On Thursday night, it looked like Miller caught another big one. He reported that men were being detained at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports; that SWAT teams removed them from aircraft and that they had knives. In a related interview, Sen.

Joseph Biden chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, referred to "a second team" that will "attempt to continue to get at the country." But all those guys were cleared of suspicions. An ABC News spokesman said yesterday that Miller was busy reporting and unavailable for an interview. "John is a tall, good-looking guy, perfect for television," said Dennis Duggan, Newsday's veteran New York columnist, who recalled that Miller once scored a comment-on-the-run from mob boss John Gotti. "He tends to be dramatic, and sometimes guys like that want to get the story first. There can be trouble with that," Duggan added..