KOJO NNAMDIWelcome back. A year ago tomorrow, a gunman entered the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis. He opened fire, and in the ensuing tragedy, five employees lost their lives. In the year since, their families and colleagues mourned, and throughout the country, journalists wondered how safe they are in their own newsrooms. How do events like this affect the journalists covering them? How can we make sure that all work places are safer?

KOJO NNAMDIWe'll get into that in a moment, but first, we'd like you to meet someone who was personally affected by last year's events. Andrew Chamblee is an attorney and activist. She's also the widow of John McNamara, who was one of the victims of the Capital Gazette shooting. She joins us by phone. Andrea Chamblee, thank you so much for joining us.

ANDREA CHAMBLEEThank you for having me, Kojo. It's a pleasure to be here, sort of.

NNAMDIAnd we'll always be sorry for your loss, but can you tell us about who your husband was in his life? What was he like?

CHAMBLEEWell, thank you. John was the best thing that ever happened to me. He was somebody his whole family and friends could count on to be there, no matter what. One of the people who spoke at his memorial had been hospitalized for weeks because of a routine surgery that went wrong. And John just -- we showed up there every day. It wasn't -- he didn't ask, like, how can we fit this into our day, or what are we going to skip? We just showed up, and he sat by his bedside and he gave him play-by-plays of the previous baseball game. And he would just do that for anybody. He was just a really devoted friend and a wonderful guy.

NNAMDIIn the aftermath of John's death, you were very open about your grieving process. How are you, and are you finding catharsis in anything?

CHAMBLEEWell, I think catharsis is elusive, and sometimes doesn't really exist at all. I think I understand I'm going to have to get used to this, and to the extent I can do that, that's an improvement. But I really want to make sure nobody else has to go through this, ever, because it's really awful.

NNAMDISo, you've taken up gun control as one of the mantels in the past year. In an op-ed that you wrote for the Capital Gazette earlier this week, you wrote that, "John," quoting here, "was doomed when politicians began cowering." Does this feel like a political issue to you?

CHAMBLEEWell, I know it's been framed as a divisive political issue, but the truth is, most Americans and even most NRA members agree that gun violence should be prevented, if we can, and that there are some commonsense gun violence preventive measures, like limiting the sales of silencers and military-style weapons and bump stocks, and locking up guns so that children can't access them. It's the extremists that tell women like me and survivors and reporters to shut up and go away because it's too soon or because the issue is political.

CHAMBLEEI think the only way they can stop killing us is if they reframe gun violence prevention as something politically divisive. But it's a public health issue, just like vaccine avoidance. And reporters report about vaccine avoidance and the devastation that it causes. And this is another public health issue that needs to be covered.

NNAMDIDo you think journalists can cover this issue and still maintain our professional standards of being fair and balanced in our reporting?

CHAMBLEEWell, that's an interesting question. I mean, women are particularly at risk from gun violence, and black and brown people are, and gay people are. So, perhaps you could just as easily say: should they be able to cover gun violence as journalists, too? I think it is a civil rights issue, and we talked about it earlier in your show a little bit, athletes and civil rights activism. And this is such a public health emergency. Three hundred Americans get shot every day, and that doesn't include the people they leave behind, and dozens more for each person. I think it needs to be covered.

CHAMBLEEUnfortunately, people are angry at journalists when they uncover the bad things they do. The shooter at the Annapolis Capital apparently didn't like a story that they did about his stalking of classmates. And so they don't like them uncovering bad things that they've done. And so they're at risk for that, but that's necessary for them to do their jobs. Their job is to let us know who's doing good and bad things out there.

NNAMDIBefore we let you go, Andrea, it's my understanding that you're finding some solace in finishing something that John started. What would that be?

CHAMBLEEWell, about 13 years ago, John started writing and interviewing coaches and players of basketball in the city. It's the Metro area's favorite sport, and it tells the story of the important role that basketball plays in Washington, DC. I think you're a basketball fan, too, Kojo.

NNAMDIHuge. (laugh)

CHAMBLEEBut also, it tells the story of other facets of these people's lives, too. The famous civil rights activist E.B. Henderson that seems to have escaped our attention, and the military heroism of the basketball player named Jaime Pirlo (sounds like) and the political accomplishments of Dave Bing, the heartbreak of Len Bias and JoJo Hunter. And it's a really fascinating story of our city and its history and the people who make their communities better. And I worked on it. I finished it. It's coming out November 3rd. It's called "The Capital of Basketball," because we're the capital of basketball.

NNAMDICan't wait. Andrea Chamblee's an attorney and activist. She's also the widow of John McNamara, one of the victims of the Capital Gazette shooting. I'm pretty sure we'll be talking again when the book comes out.

CHAMBLEEThank you very much, Kojo.

NNAMDIThank you so much for joining us. The shooter who attacked the Capital Gazette now faces 23 counts, including first-degree murder. He'll go on trial in November. He's pled guilty, or pled not criminally responsible to all 23 charges, due to a mental disorder. Prosecutors say the attack was an escalation of a longer pattern of threats and harassments against the Gazette, which had run a column on his guilty plea in another criminal case. Joining me in studio is Gene Policinski. He is the chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute at the Newseum. Gene, thank you so much for joining us.

GENE POLICINSKIIt's nice to be with you, Kojo.

NNAMDIGene, that experience isn't new for us, as journalists. Readers or listeners unhappy with a story or an opinion piece can express themselves in ways that can be aggressive, angry or even threatening. Does that mean that journalists are in danger all the time?

POLICINSKIWell, I think we'd be silly to sit in our society today where, you know, you can be a target sitting in a mosque, a synagogue or a church, a restaurant, a nightclub or just on the street, not to feel a sense of danger. And, obviously, when you look at the anniversary of the shootings in Annapolis and, again, I think we'll never lose our sympathy and condolences to those family members, you have to say that it's a dangerous time. And the rhetoric around journalism has gotten hotter, more heated.

POLICINSKIBut I can recall early in my journalism career, Don Bolles in Phoenix was targeted, a reporter investigating organized crime there. And they put a bomb under his car seat, and he died a few days after that exploded. You know, it's always been a bit dangerous. I can recall -- I passed 50 years in the business last May.

NNAMDICongratulations.

POLICINSKIThank you. And I can remember people calling me up and making threats. I still do a column out of the Newseum, and I've got three guys in Wyoming who called one day to tell me I better never go there. And so, there's people out there. I also look against the world where you have people who go to work every day under an actual bounty set by narco terrorists, and they still go to work. So, we're safe, safer than that but are we safe? No. I think the ratio has ratcheted up.

NNAMDIJoining us from studios in Atlanta is Kari Cobham. She's the senior associate director of Fellowship for Mental Health and Media at the Carter Center. Kari Cobham, thank you for joining us.

KARI COBHAMThank you for having me.

NNAMDIEven though the kind of workplace violence we're talking about is rare, do you think journalists feel safe in their workplaces, more broadly?

COBHAMWell, I guess it depends on how you define rare, right? But I think how safe journalists feel in their workplaces has a lot to do with how proactive our employers are about providing and communicating processes like what employee mental health resources are available, what physical safety measures they've put in place, who to alert if you're being harassed so it could be dealt with before it escalates, what to do in the field if things get dangerous. And I also think employers need to better prepare journalists to cover trauma and the effect it might have on their mental health, and foster a culture where it's okay to get help. And the Dodd Center has a lot of resources around that.

COBHAMI wrote a column for Poynter recently, and one of the points I covered was that managers should look out for changes in the newsroom's performance after traumatic events and be flexible with time off afterward and rotate heavier assignments, and acknowledge that it could be particularly hard for journalists in certain groups. So, if you're a journalist of color who's covering race or you're consuming news on race -- and too often, that last one is an elephant in the room. Right? No one wants to talk about it. I was in the WFTV newsroom in Orlando after the Pulse shooting, and we had comfort dogs come in. And it might seem like a small thing, but it really made a difference.

NNAMDIJournalists are, of course, not unique in facing threats at work. This happens on a regular basis in all kinds of workplaces. At the same time, Gene, is there something unique about journalism in terms of the public nature of what we do?

POLICINSKIWell, I think that's it. I mean, obviously, reporters, correspondents are out in the public. They're often at the scene, at the very moment when tragedy is perhaps most present, most visceral. So, I think that it's a little different than some professions where you also can deal with it. You know, one of the things that I've always thought as a journalist myself was I'm on the scene and the EMTs are on the scene of, say, a tragic accident. They're able to do something to help that person at the time, at that moment. You have the catharsis of writing about it, but it's not the same as being able to directly help.

POLICINSKIAnd I think Kari's absolutely right. I think for far too long, we told people in the newsroom after those experiences, you know, the old hard-bitten journalist cliché, you know, just suck it up and go on. And I think a lot of people suffered in our business from the repressed trauma and the emotions that they had.

NNAMDIGene, you point out that, historically, there were always threats. What's changed in the decades you've been doing this work?

POLICINSKIWell, I think, again , the rhetoric is sharper. People feel more connected, in a way, personally to journalists, because we've gotten to an era where it's not just a byline on a printed page. It's a visual of them, or it's an interchange with people over the web. So, sometimes they feel closer, which ironically, can also make them feel more empowered to tell you what they think or to come and see you.

POLICINSKIAnd also, you know, we've moved, in many ways, from the neutral party. This is particularly true overseas, but even in the U.S. People used to need us to get that story out, so you kind of had a Red Cross Swiss aura about you when you went to see various parties. Today, people can go around you in a heartbeat over the web, and you may actually be a threat to their constructed story. So, you've moved from the neutral party, or even a desired party, into this, you know, I'm not so sure I want you around. So, the atmospherics around you have change.

NNAMDIKari, kind of the same question to you, and that is the public nature of what we do puts us more in danger, do you think?

COBHAMI think that it can. You know, when you have your byline out there, people know your face. Then you come to represent the news and the organization that you work for. And if they have an issue with the organization or they have an issue with a story or your reporting, it's still much easier, I think, and especially in this age, to get access to you. So, we see a lot of online harassment. We see people, reporters who are on the streets covering stories who are being attacked. And so, you know, based on the rhetoric and the fact that the media is being demonized, journalists are seeing that as we're covering our stories and as we're just existing online.

NNAMDIYou talk about proactive safety plans. What does that mean, and what are best practices?

COBHAMYou know, where I worked, we did some active shooter drills. And I think that there was this very real sense afterwards, going forward, that, you know, could today be the day that our newsroom became a target. And I think that it's really important for employers to communicate to the newsrooms what the processes are for when things go wrong. What are the things they're putting in place to keep the journalists safe, whether that's physical. What are the things that they should be thinking about and doing when they're doing field reporting to make sure that they stay safe? Who do they need to go to if something does go wrong so that they understand, like, hey, my employer has my back, and this is what I need to do.

COBHAMAnd then also in trauma situations, whether that's covering fatal accidents or covering conflicts, that you know what to expect from a mental health side. But then you also know how to react from the physical side.

NNAMDIGene, your work puts you in touch with the families of journalists who lost their lives here and around the world. Just yesterday, a bipartisan group in congress introduced legislation to create the Fallen Journalist Memorial Foundation and a monument on the National Mall. Is there a sense that these so-called occupational hazards of journalism are preventable or are they inevitable because of the nature of what we do?

POLICINSKIWell, we live in a society where we, I think, have to come to grips with, at least until gun control or whatever happens in our society, that it's inevitable we'll face those things. You know, that memorial -- we've had a memorial since '96. We're working with them actually, our CEO is on the board of that effort, to remind people that journalism is a dangerous profession. You know, Kari mentioned the rhetoric around journalism getting sharper and demonizing journalists. I think we also need to point out that journalists, like the people at the Capital Gazette or in Rio, or anywhere around the world risk their lives every day to bring us the news. Many of them do.

POLICINSKIAnd I think that, perhaps, will counter some of the antipathy journalists that we see in today's society. I do think that journalists need to be aware that they've become a lightning rod in ways that maybe weren't true 30, 40 years ago. And much more personal mediums, much more attention on the personality that brings you the news as much as the news itself.

NNAMDILuna says on Twitter: I think that seekers of truth are always at risk of violence, but especially today. Kari Cobham, after the incident at the Capital Gazette, did you notice a shift in how journalists approach their work?

COBHAMYeah, I mean, being a journalist is always on the top ten list of most stressful jobs, right. So, the work that we do might be rewarding, but it's also taxing. I think the Capital Gazette shooting really brought that danger home in a very visceral way. So, we were working, but we were mourning alongside that community, because it could've been our newsroom. We believe in the work. We believe in keeping our communities informed. We will continue to do it, but I think that we operate with a lot more caution. And we're thinking a lot more about how we can continue to build that trust.

COBHAMBut as I mentioned earlier, you know, there's this sense that could it be today that our newsroom becomes a target? Has the harassment that we are already getting online or that we're getting in the field, is that at a tipping point? And I think that we definitely feel more of a target and a lot less safe than we did, say, three or five years ago.

NNAMDIIn the minute or so we have left, Gene, do you think reporters today are better equipped to handle difficult, tragic stories than previous generations?

NNAMDII think they are. Although, I think, again, the help that Kari's outlined is always going to be needed, and maybe more in the future. But, you know, we had an experience with the young journalists at Parkland who were in the closet, even as the shots were going on. And, you know, they made some early decisions how to handle that, for themselves and with their fellow students. For example, their photographer said, we'll never take a photo without asking permission in advance, something most professionals wouldn't have done.

POLICINSKISo, I think, unfortunately, younger journalists growing up in this environment may have at least a starting point. It's a lot better than when I started out with this sense of safety that was going on. But they're going to need help, as Kari outlines, as well.

NNAMDIGene Policinski is the chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute at the Newseum. Gene, thank you so much for joining us.

POLICINSKIThank you.

NNAMDIKari Cobham is the senior associate director of Fellowships for Mental Health and Media at the Carter Center. Thank you for joining us.

COBHAMThank you, Kojo.

NNAMDIThis conversation about the one-year anniversary of the Capital Gazette shooting was produced by Maura Currie. And our show on social activism and professional athletes was produced by Margaret Barthel. Coming up tomorrow on the Politics Hour, former Maryland congressperson and current presidential candidate John Delaney joins us to talk about the Supreme Court ruling on partisan gerrymandering in his former district, as well as his performance in this week's presidential debate.

NNAMDIWe hear from Arlington County board chair and metro board member Christian Dorsey on the ongoing fallout over the board's investigation of Jack Evans. Plus, we'll get an update on Prince George County politics from councilmember Derrick Davis. That all starts tomorrow at noon on the Politics Hour. Until then, thank you for listening. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.