Updated 12/12/2018: For TIME’s Person Of The Year, the news magazine named “journalists who have been targeted for their work,” calling them “The Guardians.” This group includes the murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo who were arrested while covering the killings of Rohingya Muslims, Maria Ressa of Philippines news site Rappler, and the journalists of Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. Five journalists from the Capital Gazette were shot and killed at the newspaper’s headquarters by a gunman who seems to have had a vendetta against the newspaper. And yet, after the tragedy took place, the Capital Gazette released the next day’s paper. For us, it is undeniable that the press and press freedom is being threatened. And although Person Of The Year is not an award, it is incredibly important to put a spotlight on Capital Gazette and the other “Guardians.” Journalists are integral to keeping our leaders accountable and upholding the truth. Our world needs them.
Democracy cannot survive without free press. According to Freedom House, a nonprofit watchdog organization focused on democracy, only 13% of the world’s population enjoys a free press, which is “a media environment where coverage of political news is robust, the safety of journalists is guaranteed, state intrusion in media affairs is minimal, and the press is not subject to onerous legal or economic pressures.” To uphold uncensored and transparent journalism allows for citizens to be informed and engaged. And when facts are reported clearly, it can minimize the potential of corruption and help keep the country safe. But the entire community must recognize and be committed to supporting free press, especially when there are journalists dedicated to providing the news. One person willing to threaten this freedom can have disastrous consequences.
A week has passed since the Capital Gazette shooting, resulting in the tragic murder of five employees. There are horrifying details surrounding the massacre. The gunman had a history with the publication: In 2011, Capital Gazette featured a column on a case about a woman being harassed by the man who is now the Capital Gazette gunman. He sued Capital Gazette for defamation the year after and after the suit was dropped he made it a point to voice disapproval about news publication and its reporters online. His threatening remarks were investigated, but the Capital didn’t press charges because of “a fear that doing so would exacerbate an already flammable situation.”
A letter was mailed to Capital Gazette’s previous attorney from the gunman with the date of the shooting and the gunman stating his intention of going to the newspaper’s headquarters “with the objective of killing every person present.” At Capital Gazette, the gunman barricaded the backdoors and stormed the building with smoke grenades and a pump action shotgun he legally bought. The police arrived at the scene 30 seconds after they were notified of an active shooter and found the gunman hiding under a desk. There were no shots exchanged.
The five victims were Rob Hiaasen, Gerald Fischman, Wendi Winters, John McNamara, and Rebecca Smith.
The sad thing is, this is a tragedy we have seen before. The victims of the Capital Gazette are innocent and undeserving of such an attack. They are part of the Annapolis community and are dedicated to informing them, even about harassment cases happening in the community. They don’t have an agenda, they have a job to do of reporting the facts. And the gunman could not accept the truth the Capital reported of his actions almost 10 years ago. It didn’t matter to him about who he was attacking exactly—he wanted to erase and silence the news publication.
Although the gunman had a personal vendetta towards Capital Gazette, there is no doubt that massacre WAS an attack on press freedom. The Capital and its staff should not be threatened for reporting the news that the people of Annapolis should hear about. They were being transparent and the gunman wanted to harm them for it. Unfortunately, the threat towards the newspaper’s freedom of press goes even further. In the aftermath while many mourn, Capital Gazette received emails in the following days from strangers that celebrated their tragedy, included death threats, and said the Capital Gazette should let go of a reporter who “cursed on national television after seeing her friends shot.”
Our democracy hangs in the balance and one of the first indicators is when press freedom is under fire, especially on a local level. America will lose too much if our citizens aren’t committed to upholding the First Amendment. Despite this terrible event, the Capital Gazette released a paper the next day and reported on their own tragedy. They issued a statement reaffirming their status as journalists “reporting the news” and said they “won’t forget being called an enemy of the people,” which refers to a tweet by Trump towards news media. The newspaper’s staff and the families of the victims will take some time to recover. Yet somehow, Capital Gazette shows their commitment.