At the start of last week, cable executives, like most Americans, looked forward to a fairly typical workweek, with many headed to New York to participate in the annual Diversity Week activities that have come to be known as ?Cable Hell Week.?

But by Tuesday morning, terrorists had delivered a distinctly different brand of hell, sweeping up everyone in the pandemonium surrounding attacks in New York and Washington.

Some ? like Liberty Corp. chairman John Malone and Comcast president Brian Roberts ? were within blocks of New York's World Trade Center when planes smashed into the twin towers. Hundreds of other visitors in the cable business were scattered across Manhattan, many in buildings that had to be evacuated. Others, like Insight chairman and CEO Michael Willner, were on their home turf in New York and scrambled to make sure their families were safe before returning to business. Not surprisingly, organizers of the annual charity dinner benefiting the Kaitz Foundation quickly canceled the event; the National Association for Minorities in Communications (NAMIC) and Kagan World Media, a sister company to Cable World, also canceled related activities (see story on page 8).

Thousands of miles away, Charter chairman and CEO Jerry Kent and Comcast Cable president Steve Burke, along with other executives, were making presentations at a Merrill Lynch conference in Pasadena, Calif., before they were to head to New York for board meetings and Thursday night's Kaitz benefit. And still others were boarding flights when their travel plans came to an abrupt halt, frustrating weeks of careful planning and stranding some far from home.

Art Marquez, VP-affiliate sales for NBC Cable, witnessed the events in New York as he drove from his home in Manhattan to NBC offices in Fort Lee, N.J. ?I'm sitting there at the stop sign with another driver next to me; we hear this horrible ring,? Marquez said. ?I heard the blast and felt the jolt?. It was like a sonic pop almost, but really loud. I thought it was an earthquake. As we looked up, though, [the tower] was still in flames before the smoke came out.

?It was just a horrifying experience. I just pulled over and composed myself and drove to the office. The second blast went off when I was on the West [Side] Highway.?

Malone and Roberts were within blocks of the World Trade Center for a board meeting at the Bank of New York, according to two sources familiar with their activities. Neither executive would talk about the experience, but according to the sources, Roberts and Malone watched as terrorists attacked the Twin Towers with hijacked airliners. Malone, a trained engineer, thought the buildings were likely to fall and he and Roberts quickly moved away from the area. The first tower crumbled as they departed.

A Liberty spokesman declined to confirm the account involving Malone or reveal his or other executives' whereabouts the rest of the week, but said that all were safe and accounted for.

In Atlanta, Jim Weiss, SVP-public relations for TBS Inc., was already in his seat for the flight from Atlanta to New York when airline officials abruptly stopped boarding the plane. He deplaned and went to an airport club, where he saw the footage of the fires in the Twin Towers. He described the scene via Blackberry e-mail: ?headed back to gate to get my things off plane when I noticed pentagon hit on a tv passing by a restaurant and knew I wasn't going to ny today. They ppd ny flights, then all flights shortly thereafter. Grabbed my stuff and headed home, saw the towers collapse on the drivers portable tv.? He called the office and sent his staff home.

Tom Tyrer, a VP of publicity at Fox Cable, heard the news on the way to the NAMIC conference from a breakfast meeting. When he arrived, he said, ?Nobody at the time had really absorbed and appreciated the gravity of what was going on.?

He was there for a CEO panel on diversity that was supposed to feature National Geographic Channel president Laureen Ong. But Ong, who had flown up from Washington that morning, was stuck on the Long Island Expressway. She e-mailed her regrets to Tyrer, then turned back to the airport, rented a car and returned to Washington.

The panel and the rest of the events were soon canceled.

After the keynote, NAMIC president Patricia Andrews-Keenan broke the news to audience members. She asked for a moment of silence. Everyone sat or stood still for several seconds and then tried to get their cell phones to work.

Communicating proved to be one of the greatest frustrations for many of those stranded and for those trying to make sure they were safe. Like others, Tyrer relied on his Blackberry when the phone circuits overloaded.

Stranded in California until late in the week, when private air travel was cleared, Charter's Kent reached out by e-mail to his employees at headquarters in St. Louis and throughout the company. He urged them to keep those families personally affected by the events in their thoughts and prayers, then addressed their own situation.

Kent wrote: ?In this time of heightened tension and distress, rest assured that we are doing everything we can to bring home all those employees stranded from their business trips. As I communicate with you, I am stranded in L.A. and can sympathize with those who want to be home with their families during this crisis. I appreciate all of your support and am happy to report that I am not aware of any employees who were injured from these acts of violence.?

He also offered use of corporate aircraft to any employee needing assistance to get home as soon as travel was allowed.

Charter also urged workers not to worry about being perceived as taking advantage of the crisis. The day of the attacks, Charter COO Dave Barford sent an e-mail urging employees to ?be cognizant of our customers in need. Television and Internet connectivity will be vital to them particularly over the next few days?. Let's also avoid any unnecessary unsolicited contact with customers that would seem inappropriate for the next day or two.?

He warned them that normal business like payments might be delayed and urged them to be understanding and supportive.

Unable to fly, some industry executives turned to train travel. NCTA president Robert Sachs and staffer Marc Osgood Smith made it home via Metroliner on Wednesday, thanks to Smith's wife, Melissa, who hounded Amtrak's website until she secured the men two seats on the train bound for Washington, D.C.

The station and train were packed with people, Sachs says. ?But everyone was polite, courteous and patient.?

Starz Encore executives were scattered across the country. Already in New York for Kaitz, chairman John Sie was being interviewed by The Wall Street Journal at the Essex House hotel; he stayed in New York following the attack.

VP-affiliate marketing Mile McNammee and communications director Eric Becker were in Los Angeles attending the Carmel Group's seminar last Tuesday. The meeting continued, and at the end of the day, Becker and McNammee decided to go home to Denver.

Some attendees including WorldGate Communications's new CEO Gerard Kunkel looked for people to drive across the country. Rental cars were scarce, Becker says, and the prospect of a long car ride attracted few bidders.

Instead, Becker and McNammee snagged a sleeping berth on the Southwest Chief Amtrak train from Los Angeles bound for Chicago; the camaraderie was infectious, says Becker, as the famous and not-so-famous quickly bonded during the 24-hour train ride. Also on the train, Becker says, was director Spike Lee, who couldn't get a sleeping berth, though once the trip was underway even he relaxed. Everyone bonded.

?I never thought of taking Amtrak, but under the circumstances it was one of the most lovely, relaxing ways to travel,? Becker said. The train wasn't enough to get them home. They had to disembark in the tiny town of Raton, N.M., where they caught a bus for a four-hour trip north. They were home roughly 30 hours after they left Los Angeles.

In Denver, Mark Shapiro, vice president and general manager of ESPN Classic & ESPN Original Entertainment, was boarding his flight when the first plane crashed in New York.

Fox Sports chairman David Hill was leaving Los Angeles for a meeting at Speedvision in New York when he realized there was no reason to go. According to a spokesman, when the car showed to take him to the airport he sent the driver away.

When Fox Sports Net VP-Communications Lou D'Ermilio finally made it back to New Jersey by train around 8:30 p.m., hours after his office was evacuated, he was met not only with a hug from his wife but by firemen there to spray the feet of Manhattan passengers to get rid of asbestos and other possible contaminants. Also on hand: ambulances to treat any victims.

Headed for C-Span's offices on Capital Hill from a breakfast meeting, C-Span chairman and CEO Brian Lamb checked in from a pay phone when he switched lines on the Washington Metro oblivious to the events unfolding in New York and closer to home. The response to his ?hi, what's new? Anything going on?? ?Two planes have hit the World Trade Center, and something has hit the Pentagon.? He calmly said he had to catch his train.

C-Span executive vice president Susan Swain was at home in Alexandria, Va., when her windows shook with the force of what turned out to be the Pentagon crash. She turned on the TV, realized what was happening and went to work where she later took a turn answering calls from stunned viewers.

As she drove home at 2 a.m., she felt like she was in a capital during wartime. By e-mail, she set the scene: ??the streets of Washington were empty. At nearly every intersection, I had to adjust course because I came upon police barricades with officers on duty, who were cutting off access to the Capitol. When I finally made my way to the 14th Street bridge, the highway was empty. Right ahead of me was the Pentagon flooded in lights for the rescue teams, with smoke still billowing from its roofline. Because the night was balmy, I had my car windows open and the smell of smoke was everywhere.?

It was, she wrote, ?surreal.?

Richard Cole, Andrea Figler, Will Lee and Christopher Schultz of Cable World contributed to this story.

HELL WEEK

more coverage:

Schedules disrupted	4
News nets on scene	6
Kaitz canceled	8
Ratings surge	10
Networks react	12
Amateur video	14

Back to this issue