Former Capital Gazette editor reflects on the media landscape ahead of shooting anniversary

By Alexis Benveniste, CNN Business

As the anniversary of the Capital Gazette newsroom shooting approaches, the publication’s former editor, Rick Hutzell, is reflecting on how the newspaper recovered.

“I really focus on the work we put into it moving forward,” Hutzell told CNN’s Chief Media Correspondent Brian Stelter on “Reliable Sources” Sunday. And Stelter pointed out that the staff managed to put out the newspaper “even the next day” after five people in the newsroom were shot and killed and two others were wounded in June, 2018.

The media landscape has continued to shift over the past few years as the newsroom recovered from the attack. Hedge fund Alden Global’s purchase of Tribune Publishing, which owns the Capital Gazette, could spark another shift for the newspaper. “I hope they invest in the company,” Hutzell said, referring to the deal that is valued at $630 million. He also said he hopes the Capital Gazette “remains profitable” and “beloved in the community.”

Hundreds of Tribune employees responded in protest to the news of the ownership change, signing a letter that cited the hedge fund’s “well-documented history of extracting short-term profits from already-lean operations by cutting newsroom jobs and denying fair wages and benefits.”

Shortly after Alden took control, Tribune offered buyouts to employees for the second time in two years.

— CNN’s Kerry Flynn contributed to this report

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