The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
On the death of a wordsmith, words come hard
BALTIMORE — Once upon a time, the Capital Gazette was a competitor of the The Baltimore Sun. But since 2014, when the Cap became part of the Baltimore Sun Media Group, that edge went away and those of us who work for The Sun now feel a familial pride for what the talented and enterprising staff in Annapolis produces.
We even share story ideas.
In March, I sent a tip to Rob Hiaasen, a wonderfully witty and talented writer and former Sun colleague who became assistant editor at the Capital. It was a story about a man from Crownsville who, in the wake of the Valentine’s Day mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., had decided to destroy his AR-10 and AR-15 rifles. The man used heavy farm equipment to crush the weapons, and he made a video of it for YouTube.
Rob loved the story, thanked me for it, and assigned it to reporter John McNamara. McNamara’s story appeared in the Capital on April 25, under the headline, “Motivated by Parkland shooting, Crownsville man crushes his AR-15, AR-10 on video.”
Rob thanked me for the tip again after the story ran. Few of us in the news business take time to do that. But Rob was that kind of guy.
Now comes the news that both Hiaasen and McNamara were killed in the mass shooting inside the Capital’s newsroom on Thursday afternoon.
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.
And I know I am not alone in that. I know that others are on that edge, that others feel that loss of hope.
Goddamn the guns.
Rob Hiaasen? Rob Hiaasen was a tall, lanky, smiling great American boy. He always had a quip. He noticed and appreciated stories with memorable prose, stories that exhibited artful craft, and he always had a compliment for other writers on the staff. That’s how I remember him. And he was as fine a feature writer as we ever had here on Calvert Street, a wordsmith with flashes of brilliance and humor.
I was sorry to see him leave The Sun. But I was happy to see him land at the Capital.
I saw him briefly for the last time in May.
I was in the DoubleTree hotel in Annapolis for the annual awards ceremony of the Maryland Delaware District of Columbia Press Association.
We don’t pop Dom Perignon in the newsroom when these awards are announced, but they are a big deal in regional journalism, and they provide particular affirmation for young staffers trying to master their craft.
Winners get some love for their hard work of the past year and a chance to meet professional peers who do what we do here at The Sun: Record the news, the instant history of the communities where we live and work, the proceedings of government and the courts, the ups-and-downs of business, the never-ending circus of politics, the traditions and trends of the region, the challenges and the calamities of every day.
We write fast news stories and hone longer features about athletes and artists, teachers and cops, firefighters and farmers. We try to capture moments, try to describe movements, try to make sense of chaos.
And once a year, we take a moment to recognize the good work that goes on at the hyper-local level.
The Capital crew sat near the front of the ballroom, and most of them looked pretty young to me as they were called up to receive awards for their enterprise:
Chase Cook for a story headlined, “Baby abandoned at doorstep of Annapolis pastor,” and another, a profile of the Annapolis mayor.
Cindy Huang for a series of stories on why some Anne Arundel schools underachieve.
Rachel Pacella for a feature under the headline, “In memory of sword swallower Johnny Fox.” Jimmy DeButts for two columns: “Latest Market House debacle spotlights Annapolis ineptness,” and, “Sponsoring a mid means welcoming a new family,” a piece about the four years his family sponsored a Naval Academy student.
Thalia Juarez won a prize for multimedia storytelling under the headline, “Beyond Bars: Parents and children reunite in prison.” She won another first-place award, along with reporters Phil Davis and Selene San Felice, for coverage of MS-13 violence.
I want to picture those young staffers from the Capital on that splendid May afternoon in the DoubleTree ballroom, holding their awards, with muted pride, before they headed back to work. I don’t want to imagine them in the horror that took place on Thursday. And Rob Hiaasen among them. God help us.
I would say there are no words to describe my feelings upon seeing those names... but you don’t get to do that in this business.