
Photo by Sue Kopen Katcef
Three years to the day after five staff members of the Capital Gazette were killed in an assault on their Annapolis, Maryland newsroom, a memorial to the victims, “The Guardians of the First Amendment,” was unveiled in downtown Annapolis on Monday.
Killed by a lone gunman were John McNamara, Gerald Fischman, Wendi Winters, Rob Hiaasen and Rebecca Smith.
The memorial features five pillars representing each of the victims, a large display with the words of the First Amendment and a reproduction of the front page of the Capital that appeared the day after the tragedy.
The long-time editor of the Capital, Rick Hutzell, who recently left the paper after taking a buy-out following the purchase of the Baltimore Sun Media Group (which the Capital Gazette is part of) by Alden Global Capital, told the crowd that gathered for the unveiling, “As hard as the wonderful people who made this memorial worked on it, [the victims] aren’t in these bricks…or in these powerful words…they’re not here. The true memorial to Rob and John and Gerald and Wendy and Rebecca is in the hearts of those who loved and worked with them.”

Photo by Sue Kopen Katcef
Tagged under: Alden, Capital Gazette, journalists memorial