Local Voices
Publisher Locks Capital Gazette Staff Out Of Office Before Rally
The owner of the Capital Gazette locked the newspaper staff out of its office before its planned Labor Day rally, The Washington Post says.
ANNAPOLIS, MD — While many celebrated Labor Day with a relaxing day off, the Capital Gazette staff had other ideas. Reporters planned to clean out their desks and parade to the City Dock for a rally to save local news.
While the protest pressed on, staffers could not enter the newsroom to collect their belongings. The newspaper's parent company, Tribune Publishing, locked the workers out of their office, The Washington Post says. According to the report, Tribune said the gathering raised coronavirus concerns.
The demonstration follows Tribune's Aug. 12 announcement that it would permanently close the Capital Gazette's newsroom. The journalists will continue to publish print and online editions, but they will work from home, as they have since coronavirus shutdowns began in March.
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Tribune announced the same day that it would also close the workplaces, but not the operations of, the New York Daily News, the Orlando Sentinel, the Allentown Morning Call and the Carroll County Times .
Capital Gazette staff members may work from the Baltimore Sun's office, if they so choose. Though the Sun is a Tribune sister company, many staffers object because they cover Anne Arundel County, not Baltimore.
Find out what's happening in Annapolisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The most recent workspace of the Capital Gazette served as a home for journalists. Opened in 2019, the headquarters had increased security and bulletproof walls. The office made workers feel safe after a gunman attacked their previous newsroom.
In June of 2018, a man broke into the Capital Gazette's place of business and fired shots at employees. The shooting took the lives five people: Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters.
Tribune has not yet responded to Patch's request for comment.
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