After Tragedy, Capital Gazette Remembers Colleagues, Carries On Mission

With Anthony Brooks

A community newsroom carries on after five of their own are murdered.

David Folkenflik, media correspondent for NPR. (@davidfolkenflik)

Baltimore Sun (Op-Ed): "On the death of a wordsmith, words come hard" — "I would say there are no words to describe my feelings upon seeing those names on the list of victims, but you don’t get to do that in this business. You have to keep going. You have to keep hitting the keyboard. I’m supposed to provide some rational thoughts or reflect on the bitter irony. But I am so sickened by the chronic violence in this foolish, gun-infested country that it brings me to the edge of despondence, the utter loss of hope."

"Year in review: From Taney to Trump to Crystal Spring, issues pour across editorial page" — "A newspaper editorial page – on which the issues of the day are dissected not just by staff-written editorials but by guest columnists and letter writers – may be the best way to read a community’s mind. There are always surprises."

"Talking about the Sunday scaries on Mother's Day" - "Because of her, I came to believe the only questions worth asking are personal. What a gift for someone to lay low in silence just to hear your answer. It’s how people begin to trust one another. It’s how people fall in love, you know. Might be how we stay in love.

If you’re lucky, you don’t wait too damn long to grow up and appreciate your parents. (She would not have used damn and would have questioned my use of it. So, in her honor, a redo.)

If you’re lucky, you don’t wait too long to grow up and appreciate your parents."

Capital Gazette: "Capital Gazette shooting victim John McNamara: Sports reporting was his dream job" — "John McNamara was toiling as a news copy editor at the Capital Gazette when he left to pursue his dream: sports reporting.

He honed his skills at the Prince George’s Journal, a competitor to the Annapolis news organization. Within a few years, the Capital Gazette hired him back. He would work there for nearly 24 years.

McNamara, 56, was one of five staff members who was shot to death at the Capital Gazette on Thursday.

McNamara, who went by 'Mac,' was remembered by his colleagues for his flexibility, concise writing and extensive knowledge of regional sports. He had a razor wit that came in bursts like a social media post, one fellow reporter said."

"Rebecca Smith was a recently hired sales assistant at the newspaper. She lived in Baltimore County with her fiancé, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Ms. Smith started her job at the Capital Gazette in November 2017, according to her Facebook page.

“She was a very thoughtful person,” Marty Padden, the paper’s advertising director, told The Baltimore Sun. “She was kind and considerate, and willing to help when needed. She seemed to really enjoy to be working in the media business.”

“She knew every human being in Anne Arundel County,” Mr. Gunn said. “In the end, she was the heart of The Capital. Her community coverage was just remarkable, and it’s what people talked about.”

Mr. Gray, who also worked with Ms. Winters, said she tirelessly covered community events and “did such a great job at it.”

“The paper had such a strong vision about community news,” he said, and Ms. Winters “encompasses what that newspaper was about.”