After the Maryland shooting, local newsrooms get support from their communities: ‘What you do matters’

When newsrooms cover tragedies in their communities, other newsrooms almost always send them food, care packages and notes. It’s a simple gesture and a sign of solidarity.

That's happening again after five were killed at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland.

But on Friday, journalists at several local newsrooms shared on Twitter that this time, support also came from the community.

A simple gesture from @HolyDonutMaine this morning had me crying at my desk. pic.twitter.com/IA6Xf5ITzL — Katherine Lee (@katherine_lee1) June 29, 2018

Katherine Lee, a web editor at the Portland (Maine) Press Herald, got into work on Friday morning at about 8:30. At 9, two dozen donuts showed up. The envelope said “with appreciation,” and the note inside read “for the people who put out the newspaper every #*!@ day!”

“I just started crying, to be honest,” Lee said.

In New Orleans, journalists at The Times-Picayune and The Advocate got bagels Friday morning, and The Lens and Baton Rouge’s The Advocate got pizza, courtesy of Scott Sternberg, general counsel to the Louisiana Press Association. He saw the suggestion of sending pizza to newsrooms in a listserv Friday morning.

“This was pretty unexpected,” said Times-Picayune editor Mark Lorando. “I think people in the newsroom were pretty touched by this.”

There’s so much rancor and hyperpartisan anger right now, including toward local journalists, Lorando said. He tries, in print and in person, to explain the mission of local news.

“We are a part of this community. We’ve been here for 181 years,” he said. “We’re talking about whether the pumps are working and whether the neighborhoods are safe.”

Sternberg worked at the Times-Picayune as an intern, and he remembers how people came into the newsroom with ideas, compliments and complaints.

“The concept that one of those people could walk into the newsroom with a shotgun, it’s beyond words,” he said. “It’s a place where people walk in all the time.”

Sternberg included a note with the bagels he sent. It read: “What you do matters.”

In Lincoln, Nebraska, reporter Chris Dunker's day started with a threatening Facebook message to the newsroom.

A few hours later, someone from the front desk walked back with two dozen cookies warm cookies from a local shop.

The note read: “Team LJS, you are appreciated, you are respected, you are invaluable, we need you, we are with you, you are never alone, thank you for all you do. – The Lincoln community”

Let me offer our deepest gratitude to “The Lincoln Community” for the delightful boxes of cookies and the uplifting note. We are lucky to live and work in a place like Lincoln, and strive to be better each and every day. pic.twitter.com/29RrcSlNkC — Chris Dunker (@ChrisDunkerLJS) June 29, 2018

Dunker thinks the newspaper does have support in the community.

“But it’s nice to know that when a tragedy happens a thousand miles from here, that people recognize the valuable work that we do and send a little gesture just to remind us of that, that we are part of the community,” he said.

If your newsroom received a gesture like this today from the community, send us an image or a tweet and we’ll share it below.

We received donuts here at the SJ, too. pic.twitter.com/ZeJg4QZgZu — ltice (@ltice) June 29, 2018

We just got pizza delivered to us at the @wacotrib . And one person has dropped by just to give me a hug and say we're loved. — Cassie L. Smith (@SmithCassie) June 29, 2018

@kristenhare A reader sent us pizza for lunch today at The @AnnistonStar. https://t.co/0HXTxKZzpf — Ben Cunningham (@Cunningham_Star) June 29, 2018

We just got this in the newsroom. We really needed this lovely gesture today. pic.twitter.com/vus5UokxKU — Marjie Ducey (@mduceyOWH) June 29, 2018

Subscribers really do care. Thank you so much to longtime @dallasnews subscriber Karen for delivering a big pile of cookies to our newsroom. She wanted to make sure our journalists felt a little love today. We are so grateful ❤️ pic.twitter.com/cwhEEogSmX — Hannah Wise (@hwise29) June 29, 2018

Appreciate whoever sent two boxes of bagels to the ⁦@springfieldNL⁩ newsroom today with a simple unsigned note that read: “I appreciate journalists.”#THANK_YOU pic.twitter.com/pYNxMb09by — Claudette Riley (@CRileyNL) June 29, 2018

A huge heartfelt thank you to the anonymous person who sent four pizzas and this wonderful note to the @Missoulian today. You made us cry, but also smile. We are grateful for your support. pic.twitter.com/OGxfqpdTZp — Missoulian (@missoulian) June 29, 2018

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'" -Fred Rogers

Thank you reader Barb Gregersen who brought brownies to the newsroom this morning and is a helper. pic.twitter.com/2VUc4t0Zby — Thomas Eric Nelson (@tomnelson87) June 29, 2018

"As our nation mourns the loss at the Capital Gazette, we want you to know your work on behalf of our community is appreciated. A free press is vital to all of us. Thank you for all you do. — The team at Tidelands Health" — Stephanie Pedersen (@stephdpedersen) June 29, 2018

Make it 20. A @registerguard reader dropped off some cupcakes last night for the newsroom. — Rob Denton (@robertrdenton) June 29, 2018

A random reader bought the Star newsroom pizza today in response to the shooting yesterday at the Maryland newspaper. He just wanted us to know that some people do care about what we do. pic.twitter.com/fRN9aIsrRB — Patrick McCreless (@PMcCreless_Star) June 29, 2018

Anonymous subscriber sent @newsobserver journalists white wine at 5 pm Friday. What a lovely gesture. — Jane Stancill (@janestancill) June 30, 2018