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Attacked newsroom: Pulitzer commemorated with somber silence

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“Clearly, there were a lot of mixed feelings,” Gazette editor Rick Hutzell told The Associated Press. “No one wants to win an award for something that kills five of your friends.”
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Capital Gazette staff members stayed silent and somberly exchanged hugs Monday when the Maryland newspaper won a special Pulitzer Prize citation for its coverage and courage in the face of a massacre in its newsroom.
Before the announcement, newspaper employees gathered in their newsroom to toast the five staffers who were shot and killed last June in one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in U. S. history.
“It’s definitely bittersweet,” said reporter Chase Cook. “Since it’s so connected to something so tragic, there was no euphoric pop-off of excitement.”
The Capital Gazette, based in the Maryland state capital of Annapolis, published on schedule the day after the shooting attack. The man charged in the attack had a longstanding grudge against the newspaper.
Capital Gazette editor Rick Hutzell said the paper had submitted entries in five categories, including a joint entry with The Baltimore Sun for breaking news. Although the Capital Gazette didn’t win in any of the five categories, the Pulitzer board awarded the citation with an extraordinary $100,000 grant to further its journalism.
The Pulitzer board said the citation honors the journalists, staff and editorial board of the newspaper “for their courageous response to the largest killing of journalists in U. S. history in their newsroom” and for an “unflagging commitment to covering the news and serving their community at a time of unspeakable grief.

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