They Shoot Journalists, Don't They?

Published even as their own office was still a mass murder crime scene being processed.

What two good friends and great journalists said about yesterday’s mass shooting at a Maryland newspaper:

Rob Downen in Manhattan

Rob Downen: “Today I read a news article about a shooting at a newsroom, reported by men and women who just lost five friends and colleagues.

“I don’t know anyone at the Capital Gazette or what motivated their killer. Nor am I usually one to wax poetic about my field.

“But I’ll say this: The best, most tireless and idealistic people I know are the ones I've met working long hours for low pay in places much like the Gazette. And no amount of layoffs or budget cuts or bloggers or death threats or etc. will stop those people from doing the thing they cherish most: Speaking truth to power, and giving a voice to the voiceless.

“Anyways, today is as good a day as any to subscribe to your local paper.”

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Kevin McDermott: “The free press, and newspapers in particular, are the one crucial institution of democracy that has remained standing. Religion is compromised, the judiciary is politicized, Congress is a sick joke. But newspapers are still doing their jobs — even under fire.”

Kevin McDermott in Cuba