Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman has sent a letter to the new owner of the Capital Gazette urging it to keep the paper going as is.
“Part of what I hope to accomplish is to shine a light on what’s going on here,” Pittman said during a news conference on Tuesday.
His letter details the shooting that killed five staff members at the paper almost three years ago and asks Alden Global Capital not to make drastic changes.
He said that the paper was committed to publishing a paper that day and everyday following. “We value these institutions. It makes our democracy work better,” Pittman said.
Alden Global Capital purchased the Capital Gazette as part of its acquisition of the paper’s parent company, Tribune Publishing.
“We’ve heard that you are bad news, that you buy papers like ours, layoff staff, cut local news coverage, and squeeze out whatever profit you can,” Pittman writes in the letter.
He invited the company to come to the unveiling of the Guardians Memorial in Annapolis on Monday honoring those who died in the shooting.
“We can grow rather than die,” Pittman said. “Whether the attacks come through the barrel of a gun, or the greed of corporate raiders. It’s not too late for you to join us,” he said.
Pittman said that he awaits the company’s response.
“It’s not too late for you to join us. Our paper is profitable,” Pittman wrote.
