List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Story posted on Jan. 13, 2011
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
This piece, which ran after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., tells the stories of four people who survived gunshot wounds to the head, based on interviews I conducted with them, their physicians and families and illustrated with photos and either X-rays of MRI images. The story reveals how they beat the odds by surviving and gives our audience a sense of the difficulties they’ve faced during recuperation and afterward, which often include serious deficits.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
The story was based on tracking down four survivors, based upon online news reports of the incidents in which they were shot. I also obtained permission from the survivors, their doctors and hospitals where they were treated, to publish X-rays or MRI images to help our audience see how bullets nearly took their lives. In this case, HIPAA laws were no obstacle as I obtained permission from everyone I approached.
Explain types of human sources used.
I interviewed each of the four survivors and their loved ones, as well as the neurologists and other specialists who treated them.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
As journalists, we always want to put a face on our stories. When someone’s life hangs in the balance of a tragedy, we want to know about others who have been in similar circumstances. After the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords, I wanted to identify and reach out to other survivors of gunshots to the head, and provide realistic views of how they initially coped and what it took to get where they are today. I tried to find subjects whose stories hadn’t been in the national media before, with the exception of the Columbine shooting survivor. The key for me was finding people who hadn’t been “overexposed,” and that was a criterion I looked for in reaching out to some major medical centers to see if doctors on their staffs could identify such patients for me, as well as trying to find local news stories around the country about such shooting victims.