Editorial roundup

July 1

The Gadsden (Ala.) Times

Capital Gazette goes on

People probably wondered why the staff of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., was so intent on putting out Friday’s newspaper only hours after five of their colleagues were brutally murdered in the newsroom.

Those who have worked — even for a relative moment — in our trade will understand.

We’ll try to enlighten the others.

Part of it is an automatic response to do what needs to be done regardless of the circumstances. That’s how we handle covering the brutal and painful side of the news, which we face all too often. (Those who accuse us of only reporting the bad and following the “if it bleeds, it leads” credo don’t know how much and how often we silently pray for uplifting, feel-good stories to come along, so we can produce smiles instead of anger or tears.)

Our business is not populated with automatons that lack human feelings. We experience the same reactions — feel the same emotions — that our readers do when confronted with stories about horrendous crimes, especially involving children, or situations like state Attorney General Steve Marshall’s harrowing, often chilling recitation of his wife’s struggles with mental and physical illness that resulted in her suicide.

We still set that aside and do our jobs because it’s important — important enough for this country’s Founding Fathers to codify the freedom to perform that task in the U.S. Constitution — to tell our readers both in print and online what happened.

Part of it is sheer cantankerousness. People don’t get into journalism to get rich or famous (at least the majority who don’t become Washington, D.C., pundits or talking heads). Some folks see it as a way to change the world. (The line “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted” is often used.) A few — way fewer than most people think — probably do see it as a means to advance a particular cause or agenda. Still others get a kick out of writing the first draft of history, or satisfying their innate curiosity.

Whatever the motivation, those who enter our trade generally are committed to what they do and don’t just say “OK” and walk away when told “no.” That doesn’t endear them to powerful people — and this crosses partisan and philosophical lines — who would rather operate outside any spotlight, not just ours. They tend to have an “I’ll show you” outlook when impeded. …

To our Maryland colleagues — we mourn your loss; we salute your grit.