The unnecessary deaths of Wendi Winters and her colleagues

UNITED STATES, MARYLAND, June 28 — The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the attack on Capital Gazette’s newsroom, resulting in the death of five of their staff members.

Our colleague Wendi Winters was one of the five victims, the remaining being Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Gerald Fischman and Rebecca Smith.

Winters had built a two-decade strong career with stories that focused on the community she served. The perpetrator — Jarrod Ramos — had threatened the news organization in the past.

We are alarmed by the authorities and their failure to act to safeguard the establishment despite the existence of a clear threat.

That Ramos was so easily able to gain access to weapons, including hand grenades, is also worrisome. We urge the authorities to take proactive steps to ensure that journalists are able to do their jobs with safety and dignity.

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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ.

Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org