Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate to establish a permanent memorial in Washington, D.C., for journalists killed in the line of duty. The legislation and announcement come ahead of the first anniversary of the June 28, 2018, shooting at Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., that took the lives of five newspaper staffers.
The Fallen Journalists Memorial Act of 2019 (H.R. 3465 and S. 1969) authorizes the newly established Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation to raise funds and work with appropriate entities to site and build a new memorial to pay tribute to the journalists who have died while performing their jobs. Former Congressman David Dreier, chair of the Capital Gazette‘s parent company, Tribune Publishing, is chairing the foundation.
RELATED
- Statement from lead House sponsor, Rep. Grace Napolitano
- Statement from the National Newspaper Association
- Statement from the News Media Alliance
- Fallen Journalists Memorial website
National Newspaper Association President Andrew Johnson, publisher of the Dodge County Pionier in Mayville, today issued a statement of support on behalf of NNA. Johnson is also past president of the WNA and WNA Foundation.
“NNA fully but sadly supports the need for this memorial,” Johnson said. “Journalists are the first line of democracy and, while they put their lives in danger along with our troops, public servants and first responders, they seldom get the recognition for the bravery required to follow the news into perilous zones. This memorial is not a political one. It is a civic one. We think every Member of Congress should sign up in support of this legislation and we will be tracking the sponsors’ list as we make our rounds on other legislation this year. No tax dollars are involved and this is a bipartisan project. Our Congressional Action Team expects to put some shoe leather into this project over the summer so that we can do our part on behalf of our industry to help this worthy project move forward.”
