Overwhelming numbers of journalists and reporting veterans have answered the call to help the Annapolis, Md., Capital Gazette publish this summer in the wake of the mass shooting of staff on June 28.
So many have offered a week or longer of time that the paper’s sister, the Baltimore Sun, which is coordinating publishing of the daily, has ended the appeal, promoted by the Investigative Reporters & Editors group.
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“IRE is grateful for the overwhelming response. We received more than 370 offers to help the Capital Gazette put out its paper. At this point, the Baltimore Sun, which is coordinating the efforts, said that because of your generosity, they now have ‘more offers than we could possibly use,” said Cheryl W. Thompson, president of the IRE board of directors.
[Also read: Journalist’s GoFundMe to help Capital Gazette victims raises more than $150,000 in first day]
“On behalf of the IRE board, a heartfelt thank you. You make us proud to be a journalist,” she added on the group’s webpage.
The Sun has asked that supporters also consider making a donation to funds that have already collected $685,000 for the five killed in the newsroom shooting rampage by a killer who allegedly had a grudge against the Gazette.
IRE rallied its supporters and journalists with this message:
The Capital Gazette staff needs our help. In the wake of the June 28 shooting, they need journalists to help publish the daily paper.
They are looking for reporters and editors who can commit two to five consecutive days in July, August and/or September. While all help is appreciated, journalists will need to be on-site at the Baltimore Sun office. The Sun wishes to clarify that visiting journalists are being paid.
On Facebook, several expressed support for the effort.
Steve Eisenstadt, a former Washington reporter who now works in corporate communications, posted this note: “The Capital Gazette, where five staff members were murdered on June 28, is seeking volunteer reporters and editors to help publish the paper this summer. Though I left journalism for corporate communications 20 years ago, I can do this, and want to. I filled out the volunteer form this morning, offering myself for up to a week in September. I’m guessing the Baltimore Sun, which is coordinating this effort, will receive many applications from better and more career-current folks than I. But it would be a profound honor to help.”
