News Post #10

“Gabrielle Giffords’s office ‘making plans’ for shuttle launch”

This Politico article, written by Meredith Shiner, details the recent release by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’s office of her plans to attend her husband’s upcoming shuttle launch. The shuttle, Endeavor, is scheduled to launch April 29 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Gifford’s husband, Mark Kelly, is expected to command the shuttle. The statement issued Friday said Giffords was “making plans” to attend the shuttle launch pending medical approval from TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital. Giffords has been at the hospital since the end of January after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. The statement issued by her office said the hospital would have the final word on whether or not Giffords can attend the launch. Additionally, her office said the dates of her travel have not been determined. However, her staff noted that Giffords would not meet with the media or issue a statement from Florida if she is able to attend the shuttle launch. Members of her staff will instead hold a press conference, where her chief of staff and communications director are expected to speak on her behalf. The article ends by reminding readers that attending the shuttle launch has been a goal of Giffords for a long time. In addition, Shiner writes that doctors describe Giffords recovery as “miraculous.” No sources are given in the article. It is assumed that Politico had access to the statement issued by Rep. Giffords’s office.

The article uses a hard news approach to relay information about Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’s plans to attend her husband’s shuttle launch. The article is very straight and to the point. It simply relays the information given to journalists. Full quotes are not used until the fourth paragraph, and this paragraph is the only paragraph in the article to have a direct quote from the statement issued by Giffords’s office. In the second to last paragraph, there is an instance of careless repetition by the author. She writes, “Giffords’ chief of staff Pia Carusone and Communications director C.J. Karamargin, Giffords’ communications director are expected to speak on her behalf.” Also, the author switches between writing “Giffords’” and “Giffords’s.” The article also assumes that the reader is aware of Giffords’s current health situation. There are instances in the article where clarification or background could be beneficial to the reader’s understanding of the topic. However, the article’s closing paragraph wraps the story well by reminding readers of how unusual Giffords’s speedy recovery has been. Overall, the article does a fair job of reporting the news, but it is written carelessly and with many mistakes.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52813.html