Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images(ANNAPOLIS, Md.) — It’s been an emotional week for the survivors of the shooting at a newspaper office in Maryland, marked with tributes to their slain colleagues.
First there was confusion over the ordering of federal flags to half staff, then they marched in the Fourth of July parade that they normally cover as reporters.
Then at 2:33 p.m. this afternoon, the paper’s newsroom held a moment of silence to honor the five newspaper employees who were killed at The Capital Gazette last Thursday.
The push for the moment of silence originated with leaders at The Baltimore Sun and their parent company — and now two journalism groups — the American Society of News Editors and the Associated Press Media Editors, extended the call for newsrooms around the world to join in the moment of silence “spent in contemplation, prayer, reflection or meditation” at 2:33 p.m., the minute that the shooting began.
Others joined in on the call, including local politicians like Steve Schuh, the county executive for Anne Arundel County in Maryland, which includes Annapolis, where the paper’s office is located.
“At times like this, it is crucial we come together as a community,” Schuh in a statement released by the county.
Reporters from other outlets and news organizations tweeted in solidarity, sharing their own moments of silence.
The survivors of the shooting rallied with their community members on July 4th as well, participating in the local parade.
Phil Davis, a reporter for the paper who was in the newsroom at the time of the deadly shooting on June 28, tweeted out pictures from the parade. Some are seen holding a banner showing the newspaper’s masthead.
The decision to participate in this year’s parade rather than simply cover it like the paper normally does was announced in an opinion piece published Wednesday July 3.
“The news staff of The Capital feels out of place being part of the event rather than on the sidelines taking notes or producing video,” the article reads.
The article goes on to say that the surviving staff members are a symbol for the community, even though “we’re hurting.”
“We’ll be on West Street and Main Street because we want our readers and our community to see that we believe things will, eventually, be OK again. Eventually,” the article states.
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