Hammarstrand™

If you made it this far, thank you. I know this is just shouting into the void but maybe someone will get something out of it. Keep those at the Capital Gazette and their families in your thoughts and prayers. I know I will.

If you don't understand journalism, please ask. I'm ready to tell you about what I do and I know most of my colleagues will too. Please also know that no matter what, we're not the enemy. We care about you and we're always ready to listen.

But those ideals are so perfect and so beautiful: to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. To give people the information they need to live. To teach you something you didn't know. And yes, to challenge your beliefs.

And I know we're imperfect. Sometimes we have bias and sometimes we make mistakes and sometimes we don't live up to the ideals of what we do.

And it's also not just altruistic because we are members of the communities we cover. We're behind you in line at the grocery store, beside you in the pew, in front of you in the stands at little league games. We're just normal people, and the news matters to us as much as you.

This pursuit is somewhat altruistic but not entirely. We love this damn job. I get to meet people on the best days of their lives and the worst days of their lives, and I essentially get paid to be curious and empathetic.

We don't make much money (I make less than when I was a nanny) and work long hours. In the past two days, I've technically worked 18 hours. But we care about you and your community, and we want you to know what's going on.

My coworkers have written about homicides in Hartford, substandard downtown housing, a woman who had a personal relationship with Fred Rogers, excessive meal bills by public officials and the Travelers Championship.

I work @hartfordcourant right now and in the past six weeks I've: covered 6 graduations, a zone and planning board meeting, a high schooler designing a 3D-printed guitar, a new restaurant, interviewed survivors of Hurricane Maria and more.

Reading about the shooting at the Capital Gazette is gutting. I start crying every time not just because the loss of life is tragic but also because it makes me feel like no one understands what journalists do and who we are. So I'm going to try to explain: (1/?)

Marco Rubio: When you're more concerned about a swear word than 5 journalists being slaughtered at work, you've got a big problem. #FridayFeelinghttps://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/1012647839376248833 …

President Trump: “Journalists —like all Americans — should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job.”

Senator who has taken more than $3 million from the @NRA is upset a gun violence victim used the word “fuck” after she was shot at by a convicted stalker who had easy access to a gun.https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/1012647839376248833 …

Trump: "Journalists, like all Americans should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job.”

Happy four year anniversary to this tweethttps://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/483319727343665152 …

1 note to clarify (from what I saw when the account was up) many of the threatening tweets were a few years old before twitter's safety controls/filters and reporting mechanisms for abuse were sophisticated. Not suggesting that means they were/weren't reported. just some context