This week was different. From that first terrible moment Tuesday morning when I turned on the television and saw a fire raging near the top of one of the World Trade Center towers I knew this week would be different.

Just how different became apparent a few minutes later, when I watched on live television as a jetliner slammed into the other tower. As one unthinkable event after another unfolded that day and the next, you know how your emotions emerged. Shock, then horror, then rage.

We all felt that way, didn't we? Those were pretty universal emotions for Americans this week. And yet I can't tell you with any degree of certainty - except for gut instinct - how the 77 journalists I work with every day felt.

By and large, journalists don't show much emotion on the job. Those who do burn out more quickly because we deal with so many emotional stories every week. Death, destruction, joy and hope tend to be the building blocks we use to construct our stories. If we get too involved, get too close to those feelings, the truth we seek can be obscured by the smoke of burning emotions.

So reporters, editors, photographers and artists try to hold their emotions in check. They don't get numb, as some critics have accused, but they hold tight to their private feelings, unleashing them only when they get away from the job.

To see a sports reporter cheering for a team or a player he or she is covering would be unprofessional. To see a reporter applauding a verdict at a trial would border on unethical.

So I wasn't surprised this week when I didn't see much emotion in my newsroom. No crying when one horror after another unfolded. No cheering when someone was rescued or when our leaders said we weren't going to stand for this.

All I saw were outstanding journalists working quietly to produce the best newspaper they could every day. They gave up time with family and friends. They gave up household chores and leisure pursuits. While the nation struggled to return to normal, their lives were anything but normal.

People came in on their days off. They stayed late, came in early. They did anything that could help produce newspapers that would give you a comprehensive, accurate picture of our rapidly-changing world.

A half-dozen editors on the copy desk stayed for the double-header, as News Editor John Gogick put it. They came in early to publish an extra edition Tuesday morning and stayed late 15 hours later to finish the special section for Wednesday's paper.

I looked up at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and the newsroom was full of people. At a time when most of us would be home on a normal day, nearly every desk was full of people grinding out the horrible details of the cowardly attack on our country.

After finishing his section, the sports editor was helping the copy desk. The features editor finished her regular work and then joined the copy desk. Reporters kept up with their regular beats while producing inspirational stories about how people in our area have responded to this crisis.

Managing Editor Will Kennedy has been the field general for us this week, directing the coverage, consulting with the other editors on how best to present the news to you. Instead of taking a much-needed day off Friday as he had planned weeks ago, he worked 12 hours. He was back again Saturday.

It seems like he's always here, always urging the staff on. And on those rare occasions when he's gone, Mr. Gogick and his staff of unflappable copy editors and designers are there plugging away. Extra editions, special sections, more space for news, and no one complains. They just put their heads down and get the job done.

To be sure, no one on our staff had to fight a fire or pull people from the rubble of a crumpled skyscraper. But to me they are heroes anyway.

Day after day they have made the near-impossible look routine. They haven't gotten hysterical over every new rumor that sweeps through. Instead they calmly sift through all the reports from credible sources and present you a thorough, accurate picture.

This story is just beginning. We hope it will end with governments around the world joining the United States to make it impossible for terrorists to operate anywhere with impunity. We know it will end with Americans awake and alert to the dangers around us and our country stronger than ever.

In the months ahead our nation will have many choices to make. To make wise choices you must have the best information available. Through it all, The Chronicle will be there for you, presenting a clear, thorough and accurate report of the day's events.