Channel 14 Stars Revisit Their October 7 Broadcasts in New Documentary
Three prominent Channel 14 figures—Yinon Magal, Erel Segal, and Shimon Riklin—revisit their live broadcasts from October 7 in a new documentary, reflecting on the disaster, media roles, and personal tolls.
Three years after the October 7 massacre, three of Channel 14's most prominent faces are revisiting the opening moments of the war—this time from the other side of the screen. In a special documentary titled "Back to October" created by Shira Krieps, Yinon Magal, Erel Segal, and Shimon Riklin sit down in front of archive footage from their broadcasts on the night after Simchat Torah, watching themselves as they attempted to comprehend the magnitude of the disaster that had unfolded hours earlier.
Reliving the First Hours on Air
During the ten-minute film, the three men reconstruct the initial hours of the massacre, address statements they made in real-time, and reveal how their worldviews shifted in the wake of the war. Alongside personal and family memories, disagreements also surface regarding the historical significance of October 7, national unity, and the role of the media during wartime. One of the earliest moments the film focuses on is the opening of the special broadcast of "The Patriots" on the evening of October 7. At that time, when the dimensions of the massacres were still not entirely clear, host Yinon Magal chose to open the broadcast with the prayer "Acheinu Kol Beit Yisrael".
"With your permission, allow me to say a brief prayer," Magal told viewers before reading the prayer for the safety of those in trouble and captivity. When Magal watches himself a long time later, he discovers that he did not even remember the moment until his sister reminded him of it.
The Debate Over Historical Scale
One of the central segments of the film brings viewers back to an on-air debate that erupted during the first broadcast between Yinon Magal and Erel Segal regarding how to define the scale of the disaster. "We are in an event, in my opinion, and we will learn more and more things as they come out... so I say this cautiously: the most difficult event in the history of the State of Israel," Segal stated back then. Magal immediately disagreed, arguing that the War of Independence and the Yom Kippur War posed far greater existential threats to the country.
Personal Toll and Professional Reflection
Much of the film is dedicated to the personal struggle of Erel Segal, whose son served as a combat soldier during the Hamas offensive and the subsequent war. Segal recounts that on the morning of October 7, he drove his son—then a platoon commander—to his base, and later realized how close he himself had come to the combat zone. When asked if he hesitated to appear on the broadcast, he answered firmly: "No, there is no such thing. You come to the broadcast." However, watching himself back brings up heavy personal thoughts. "I see myself and I understand that this year aged me very much," he says. Toward the end of the film, Segal also reveals the personal toll the war exacted on him and its impact on his professional future, noting that he no longer sees his future in television forever.
