What did employees of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland do on Thursday afternoon, after their office had been shot up and five of their colleagues killed?
They put out a newspaper.
If you find that surprising, you have never worked in the news business. It’s exactly what people in the news business would do.
The news goes on, and it’s got to be reported. Who better to do it than people at the place most affected?
And what better tribute could the living offer to their fallen colleagues?
The three men and two women who died in the shootings were the sort of quirky and talented people you’d expect to find at a newspaper, as the Capital Gazette’s stories Friday on Gerald Fischman, Wendi Winters, John McNamara, Rob Hiaasen, and Rebecca Smith show.
May they rest in peace.
The actions of their remaining staff members through their shock and grief represents the finest qualities in this noble (if troubled) trade.
