The Capital Gazette Shooting: Perspectives on a Tragedy

Today, several perspectives on the murders at the Capital Gazette Newspaper. On Thursday afternoon, a 38 year-old man from Laurel shot five people dead and injured two others at the offices of the Gazette on Bestgate Avenue in Annapolis. A little later in the program, WYPR’s Dominique Maria Bonessi will join Tom on the phone with the latest on the investigation into the shooting. Tom also speaks with security expert Dr. Keith Williams, vice-president of Support Services at Admiral Security, a company that guards buildings like the one in which the Gazette is located. We’ll hear from Jamie Costello, an anchor at WMAR 2 News whose own newsroom was attacked a few years ago; from Dr. Paul Nestadt, a clinical psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who studies gun violence; and from Joel Simon of the Committee to Protect Journalists.But Tom's first guest is Indira Lakshmanan, a columnist for The Boston Globe, who holds the Newmark Chair in Journalism Ethics at the Poynter Institute, an organization that provides training and resources for journalists around the world.,,,,,,,,,,__Officials say that all of the victims in the Annapolis shooting were employees of the Capital Gazette. Their names are:Rebecca Smith, 34 - Sales Assistant. Smith was recently hired as a Sales and Advertising Coordinator for the Capital Gazette.Wendi Winters, 65 - Special Publications. Winters won various journalism and public relations awards for her work in the public relations field. She was the founder and organizer of the annual P.R. Bazaar, and wrote for an array of magazines, newspapers, and online sites aside from her work at the Capital Gazette. She covered news as the community reporter and was a columnist.John McNamara, age 56 - Editor/Reporter. McNamara worked for the Capital Gazette for 20 years. He was the editor of the Bowie Blade-News and the Crofton-West County Gazette.Gerald Fischman, 61 - Editor/Writer. Fischman is a Pasadena resident. He wrote Capital Gazette's editorials and edited the editorial page and handled editing for The Sunday Capital.Rob Hiaasen, 59 -Columnist/Writer. Hiaasen started his career as a staff reporter for the Baltimore Sun before beginning his career as an assistant editor for the Capital Gazette in 2010.A vigil to remember the victims will be held tonight at the Annapolis City Dock at 8:00pm.Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.