New Capital Gazette Owner Bashed, Invited To Memorial Unveiling

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman on Tuesday criticized the new owner of the Capital Gazette for reducing its staff. He also invited them to an upcoming memorial for the workers who died in the 2018 newspaper shooting.

Alden Global Capital, a New York City-based hedge fund, bought Tribune Publishing for $633 million last month. That gave Alden majority ownership of every Tribune newspaper, including these Maryland publications:

• The Baltimore Sun
• Bowie Blade-News
• Capital Gazette
• Carroll County Times
• The Aegis

Alden owns about 200 papers and has a reputation for slashing newsroom budgets and laying off employees.

"We’ve heard that you are bad news, that you buy papers like ours, lay off staff, cut local news coverage, and squeeze out whatever profit you can," Pittman said in an open letter to Alden executives. "We rejoiced when other investors stepped in with a competing offer, promising to preserve our paper and the Baltimore Sun under the oversight of a local nonprofit. But you won. That was a blow, but we’re not ready to give up."

Two Capital Gazette employees recently accepted voluntary buyouts. Journalist Chase Cook tweeted on June 14 that he took the offer. Former Editor Rick Hutzell followed on Saturday, announcing his departure from the publication where he spent 33 years.

"The murder of my five friends, Rob Hiaasen, Gerald Fischman, Wendi Winters, John McNamara and Rebecca Smith, changed me," Hutzell wrote in his goodbye column. "I always enjoyed the job. But I became consumed with the notion that it was my purpose to save the paper."

A gunman burst into the Capital's Annapolis newsroom on June 28, 2018, taking the above worker's lives. Laurel man Jarrod Ramos, 41, pleaded guilty to all 23 charges in the shooting.

WTOP reported that jury selection begins Wednesday. The multi-week trial will start as soon the jurors are picked, journalist Megan Cloherty noted.

Officials will remember the victims on the three-year anniversary of their death by unveiling the "Guardians of the First Amendment Memorial."

The downtown Annapolis monument will be located at the corner of Compromise Street at Newman Street. The ceremony will start Monday at 11 a.m.

David Simon, creator of HBO’s "The Wire," and author Laura Lippman will speak at the dedication. The married couple and Baltimore Sun graduates were family friends with some of the slain journalists.

The county executive hopes Alden representatives will attend the gathering.

"It’s not too late for you to join us," Pittman said. "After the event, you can meet with community leaders, elected officials, and Capital Gazette staff for a conversation about how we can protect local journalism as a career and the Capital Gazette as an institution."

Patch requested a comment from Alden but has not yet heard back. We will update this story if we get a response.

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CAPITAL GAZETTE COVERAGE:

• Tribune Publishing Agrees To Purchase By Alden
• Capital Gazette Shooting Survivors Will Be On Podcast Miniseries
• Victim Of Capital Gazette Shooting Earns Honor For Her Heroism
• Publisher Locks Capital Gazette Staff Out Of Office Before Rally
• Tribune Closing Capital Gazette Office
• Slain Capital Gazette 'Hero' Deserves Medal Of Freedom: MD Reps
• Wife's Gut-Wrenching Essay On Husband's Death In Capital Shooting
• Mikulski Seeks Medal Of Freedom For Slain Capital Gazette Writer
• Annapolis Shooting: Here Are The 5 Capital Gazette Victims

TRIAL COVERAGE:

• Capital Gazette Shooter First Planned To Blow Up Paper, Court
• Coronavirus Postpones Capital Gazette Shooting Trial
• Capital Gazette Shooter Pleads Guilty To All Counts In 5 Deaths
• Capital Gazette Shooting Suspect Jarrod Ramos Found Legally Sane
• Use Of Capital Gazette Shooting Video Debated In Court
• Mental Evaluation Ordered For Accused Capital Gazette Gunman
• Attorneys For Accused Newspaper Shooter Want Trial Split In Half
• Ramos Must Turn Over Jail Treatment Records: Newspaper Shooting
• Mental Health Evaluation For Jarrod Ramos Has Been Sealed
• Capital Gazette Shooting Video To Be Shown In Murder Trial

Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.