ABC says Sawyer lands first Giffords interview

Published September 12, 2011 4:00am ET



ABC announced Monday that “ABC World News” anchor Diane Sawyer had scored the first on-camera interview with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., since she was shot outside a Tucson grocery store in January. But did ABC speak too soon? Mark Kimble, spokesman for Giffords, told the Tucson Sentinel that the TV interview had not been confirmed.

“Congresswoman Giffords has not decided if she’s going to conduct an on-camera interview,” Kimble told the newspaper.

The ABC News announcement touted a “landmark television event” in which Giffords would appear with her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly. Kimble said that Sawyer will interview Kelly on-air and then talk to both him and Giffords off camera.

The interview was supposed to air Nov. 14, the day before the release of Giffords’ memoir, “Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope.”