News Comment #4
Comments(1) My news comment this week is over the article “FDA OKs Pfizer’s booster shot for older adults and people at high risk” from NBC News. The article discusses that on Wednesday the FDA approved an emergency booster shot for those 65 and older, in addition to those 18 and older who are at high-risk exposure or severe illness. Individuals are eligible to receive the vaccine at least six months after their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Past the initial or most important information, the article goes on to talk about other questions that were raised and some background information.
The article seems to follow the inverted pyramid style well and as a reader, I could easily stop reading part of the way through and have the information I needed. So in that area, the writers, Erika Edwards and Sara G. Miller did a good job. Overall it was pretty objective, however, later on in the piece, I noticed that there were some unnecessary descriptors that were used. For example, it was said that “Another thorny question the CDC advisers will…” I don’t find the use of the word “thorny” to be necessary in this case. I would think things like this are already obvious or it’s something the reader can decide for themselves.
Overall, I think it was done nicely. You got the information you needed and amidst the pandemic, it was a pretty relevant article. Especially if you are someone who received the Pfizer vaccine.
Thanks for the “thorny” example. We will talk about this in a week or two. It could come up next week when we talk about summary and paraphrase. This is an example of the writers trying to put the situation into context. It’s OK, s long as they provide an example of “thorny.”