PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) - Five journalists were killed on Thursday, gunned down in their own newsroom.
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Moments after they watched their coworkers die, reporters and editors at the paper were already back at work - determined to fulfill their mission to cover the news.
That dedication inspired journalists all over the country, including in Maine. "It took our breath away," said Cliff Schechtman, the Executive Editor of the Portland Press Herald.
When kids in schools are gunned down, as journalists, we interview local students for reaction. When people in movie theaters are gunned down, we interview movie goers. We talk with concertgoers, churchgoers, and anyone affected by these acts of violence. When the shooting happens in a newsroom, we talk to our fellow journalists.
"It's deeply disturbing for those of us - for the reporters and photographers - for whom this is a life's career. It's a mission. To be a watchdog; to inform the community," Schechtman said. "When you have public officials saying that the media, the press, is a public enemy or an enemy of the people - it's deeply disturbing."
Court reporter Ed Murphy was shocked when he heard the announcement of the five victims' names. "I realized that one of the reporters killed, I had gone to college with. We graduated in 1979 from the University of Maryland. I remember him," he said. "We were not great friends. I don't want to oversell that. We did not keep in contact after college."
Capital Gazette Editor Gerald Fischman is remembered as being quiet, dedicated, and 'quirky.' Murphy said he remembered that trait even back in college. "I always remember that as people were walking all over college with their books and papers and stuff in their backpacks - he had a briefcase."
In the Portland Press Herald newsroom, the Holy Donut delivered breakfast. A reader sent pizza for lunch. In NEWS CENTER Maine's Bangor newsroom, the Bangor Police offered extra security. These kind gestures mean so much to the people in these newsrooms - who are only indirectly affected by the horrific events in Maryland. All we can say is "thank you."
"It's touching that people are thinking of us, not that we deserve special attention, but people I think realize and appreciate the role that local journalists provide every day to the community," Schechtman said.