“It is an all too familiar story, reported with alarming regularity across America: someone with a firearm and an axe to grind opens fire on a group of innocent people. Now, staff members of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, have become the story after a shotgun attack in their own newsroom left five dead and others wounded.

“The motive for this shooting may have been personal, but the overall climate in which journalists work is becoming increasingly dangerous. We are physically threatened, and accused of lying, distortion and partisanship, often with the President of the United States in the vanguard. It makes our job more difficult, but also inspires us, redoubling our determination to find the facts and report the truth.

“We of the New York Press Club condemn the murders.

“We call for sensible gun laws that protect the lives of Americans while preserving our Second Amendment rights.

We mourn with our colleagues of the Capital Gazette, and salute their professionalism as they honor their fallen dead in the best way they know – by producing the next edition.”

June 30, 2018