House and Senate lawmakers introduced bipartisan bills on Wednesday to build a memorial in Washington to honor fallen journalists.
The new legislation, entitled “The Fallen Journalists Memorial Act of 2019”, comes just ahead of the anniversary of the mass shooting that left five journalists dead last year at the Capital Gazette, a newspaper based in Annapolis.
It authorizes a new non-profit, the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation, to raise money for the memorial, and to work with local authorities to find a spot for the monument on federal land.
“Journalism is a cornerstone of our democracy,” said Tribune Publishing Chairman David Dreier, who will chair the foundation’s board, at an event on Tuesday. “It is important to honor those who have died in pursuit of the truth.”
In a column published in the Capital Gazette, Dreier drew attention to a number of victims, including The Washington Post’s Jamal Khashoggi, the Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Pearl, and Alison Parker and Adam Ward, who were with the CBS affiliate in Roanoke.
“Journalists put their lives on the line every day to protect our democracy and a free and independent press,” said Rep. Grace Napolitano, who co-sponsored the bill with Rep. Tom Cole, on Tuesday. “We must pay tribute to those who perished not only on the front lines of battle, but those whose lives have been lost while simply fulfilling their duty to deliver the news.”
The Senate bill was sponsored by Senators Ben Cardin and Rob Portman.
The federal government will not provide funding for the memorial. Instead, the foundation, which is affiliated with the National Press Club Journalism Institute, will “build support and plan for the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and preservation of the memorial,” according to a press release.
There has long been a memorial wall at The Newseum (which has also worked to raise awareness of threats to journalists) but it is selling its prominent building on the National Mall amid financial troubles. The process to build a new memorial on federal is lengthy and rarely simple. Plans for a World War I Memorial, for example, have been underway for more than a decade.
Newsrooms across the country were shaken to their core last year when a man armed with a pump-action shotgun entered the Gazette’s newsroom and shot five people dead on June 28, 2018. Wendi Winters, one of the staffers killed in the attack, was known as a prolific writer of theater reviews in the District.
The alleged shooter, Jarrod Ramos, had a history of harassing people at the Gazette, police say, and the 39-year-old from Laurel harbored resentment toward the paper for years. Ramos pleaded “not criminally responsible” to all charges held against him in April, citing mental issues that made it impossible for him to abide by the law. A judge ruled on Tuesday that his trial could be divided into two phases, one to prove his guilt or innocence, and one to determine whether he can be held responsible for his actions if convicted.
Several events including a concert, a moment of silence, and a forum on gun violence are planned on Friday in remembrance of the attacks.
