Selection of First Journalist to Ride Shuttle ‘on Standby’
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Officials said today they have halted the process of selecting the first journalist to ride into space in the wake of Tuesday’s tragic shuttle explosion.
“The best thing to say now is to say we’re on standby,” said Jack Bass, who is helping coordinate the selection process at the University of South Carolina College of Journalism.
NASA announced last year that a journalist would be chosen as the second private citizen to venture into space this fall, following teacher Christa McAuliffe, who died in the shuttle explosion.
The Assn. of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication had received about 1,700 applications and were to begin paring that number to 100 this weekend.
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