I think you are looking at this a bit skewed. Dont get me wrong i myself think the news generates far to much bullshit coverage on deaths, especially the ones they DONT report. 300 people can die in idontgiveafuckistan and not one tear is shed. 2 kids die from dumb shit and its front page news. In the end none of these things matter, the global, and even local effects of these events is 0. Now the personal effect, if you know or are related to one of these people is immense. But lets face facts, between phones/internet you are going to know your friend/family member passed, no need for CNN for that shit. They are doing nothing but making money on other peoples woes, and that is bullshit.
Now, i dont want to derail this too far, so im going to leave out pros/cons/politiks etc from this next part, and simply look at the "human" element. We celebrate our great achievements as a people, and morn great losses that change a landscape forever. Im not saying that their arnt OTHER examples that could have been learned from in a given situation etc, simply that when something gets screwed up enough to make everyone notice it WILL effect your daily life. Pearl Harbor, The Deceleration of Independence, 9/11, D Day etc will be remembered, mourned/celebrated by america for as long as it is a country, because these incidents and things affected the entire country, and often the world. The thing is sitting back and going 'merica 9/11...is BS. EVERY country does this. The french have Bastille Day, the Japanese still morn the loss of Hiroshima and Nagasaki(both through protest outside american bases, as well as visiting the memorials built in the citys.) Im sure the Tsunami that hit them will be "remembered" to a greater or lesser extent for years to come as well, and that was an act of nature not man. The point being we(being human beings) at least attempt to remember history, to prevent the same things happening again. its why when you first burn your self on an oven forever after that their is a little voice in your mind going "hey dummy dont do that, it hurts", loosing a great deal of people to enemy action, or other monumental events are noticed and often remembered. While the way the media covers 9/11 may be horrendous i do not feel that the remembrance itself is a bad thing.