[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 14 (Wednesday, January 23, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E80]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





  TRIBUTE TO THE STAFF OF THE CAPITAL GAZETTE, RECOGNIZED AMONG TIME 
                 MAGAZINE'S PERSON OF THE YEAR HONOREES

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                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 23, 2019

  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay a heartfelt tribute to the 
men and women of the Capital Gazette. The staff at the daily paper, 
based in Annapolis and covering news across Anne Arundel County and the 
surrounding area, were recognized last month by TIME as one of its 
`Person of the Year' honorees. They joined murdered Saudi journalist 
Jamal Khashoggi; Maria Ressa, a reporter in the Philippines working to 
expose corruption amid the country's drug war; and Burmese journalists 
Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone, imprisoned for covering the plight of Rohingya 
refuges. TIME's award focused on the dangers facing journalists as they 
seek to fulfill their role as `guardians' of truth. At the Capital 
Gazette, that danger took the form of a deadly mass shooting on June 
28, 2018, which killed five employees and injured several others.
  On that tragic day, a gunman entered the Capital Gazette offices in 
Annapolis and took the lives of Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John 
McNamara, Wendi Winters, and Rebecca Smith. It was a targeted attack by 
a mentally disturbed individual who should never have been able to 
acquire dangerous firearms. The attack came after months of vitriol 
leveled at the press, where reporters were called `enemy of the people' 
and lambasted as purveyors of `fake news.' To their credit, even after 
this deadly shooting took the lives of their friends and colleagues and 
after having to endure threats targeted at them and other journalists, 
the staff of the Capital Gazette continued their important work of 
reporting the news to the people of Maryland and released an edition of 
the paper the very next day. They would not be deterred from their 
mission, so critical to our open and deliberative democracy.
  Madam Speaker, I hope all of the Members of this House will join me 
in congratulating the Capital Gazette and thanking its staff for the 
hard work they do every day--as well as all the members of the press 
who are risking danger to report the news. We must continue to stand up 
for the freedom of the press, which is critical to the liberty of our 
people and to all nations around the world.

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