Journalists are no strangers to covering American mass shootings. But yesterday was different, with professionals facing a shooting in their own newsroom, when a gunman opened fire at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, killing five.
The shooting happened at 3:15pm ET. Immediately the newsroom started covering it.
Five people were killed and several others were “gravely injured” in a shooting at the Capital Gazette office, according to police. A shooter is in custody. https://t.co/ZTw7BuaNAk
— Capital Gazette (@capgaznews) June 28, 2018
And the staff promised to put out a paper.
Yes, we’re putting out a damn paper tomorrow. https://t.co/ScNvIK1A4R
— Capital Gazette (@capgaznews) June 29, 2018
Friday morning, the staff put out a paper about it. Here was the front page.
— Capital Gazette (@capgaznews) June 29, 2018
The dedication to the putting out the news in the face of such severe adversity blew other journalists away.
They put out a damn paper. https://t.co/S6ANgpXNjk
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) June 29, 2018
The Capital’s front page tomorrow, 10 bylines reporting on 5 dead colleagues https://t.co/dDeouBGbCF
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) June 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/LokayFOX5/status/1012551422561476608
To experience such horror and still get the paper out – I’m in awe of this professionalism. #journalism https://t.co/zNjNlFLIhV
— Jane Merrick (@janemerrick23) June 29, 2018
They got the fucking paper out. https://t.co/Ocyc7qd4LX
— Paul McLeary (@paulmcleary) June 29, 2018
On the opinions page, the staff left it starkly empty, with the names of the colleagues they lost, saying that tomorrow they would be back at it. But today, they were “speechless.”
Tomorrow this Capital page will return to its steady purpose of offering readers informed opinion about the world around them. But today, we are speechless. pic.twitter.com/5HzKN2IW7Q
— Capital Gazette (@capgaznews) June 29, 2018
As the story resonated around the web, a GoFundMe for the paper picked up steam.
A verified GoFundMe has been created by journalist @MadiLAlexander to support victims of the tragic #CapitalGazette shooting. https://t.co/BMvgGlBIsT
— GoFundMe (@gofundme) June 28, 2018
Created by journalist Madi Alexander, the GoFundMe wants to “do whatever we possibly can to help them pay for medical bills, funeral costs, newsroom repairs, and any other unforeseen expenses that might arise as a result of this terrible shooting.”
As of this morning, it’s raised $89,000 of a $100,000 goal.
