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The Capital

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For other uses, see Capital (disambiguation).

The Capital
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Baltimore Sun Media Group/Tribune Publishing
PublisherTim Thomas
EditorBrooks DuBose
Sports editorAnthony Maluso
Photo editorJ. Bill
Founded1884; 140 years ago (1884) (as Evening Capital)
Headquarters888 Bestgate Road, Suite 104, Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.
Circulation30,274 daily
35,155 Sunday
Websitecapitalgazette.com

The Capital (also known as Capital Gazette as its online nameplate[1] and informally,[2][3] while the Sunday edition is called The Sunday Capital) is a daily newspaper published by Capital Gazette Communications in Annapolis, Maryland, to serve the city of Annapolis, much of Anne Arundel County, and neighboring Kent Island in Queen Anne's County. First published as the Evening Capital on May 12, 1884,[4] the newspaper switched to mornings on March 9, 2015.[5]

The company has moved headquarters seven times, including from 3 Church Circle to 213 West Street in 1948, to 2000 Capital Drive in 1987, to Gibralter Road after that, and to 888 Bestgate Road in 2014.[citation needed]

The Capital was acquired by The Baltimore Sun Media Group in 2014.[6]

History

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See also: Maryland Gazette

The newspaper was founded in 1884 as the Evening Capital and operated under this name until June 20, 1981, when it was shortened to just The Capital.[7] Its founder was William M. Abbott, a former compositor for The Baltimore Sun, who employed his daughter Emma Abbott Gage as the newspaper's editor and his son Charles B. Abbott as business manager.

In 1910, Abbott purchased the weekly Maryland Gazette from Col. Phillip E. Porter and merged the paper with his Capital, creating the Evening Capital and Maryland Gazette.[8][9] In the years following the Civil War, Annapolis faded economically, and the pages of the Evening Capital mostly reflected the local happenings of a sleepy, provincial town.[10] During the early twentieth century, the expansion of the nearby United States Naval Academy was recorded in the paper as a source of both optimism and concern for local citizens.[11] Abbott and his family handed over ownership of the paper to Ridgely P. Melvin in 1919, and it reverted to its original name of Evening Capital in 1922.[12] Melvin subsequently sold the Capital to the Capital-Gazette Press Company in 1926.[13][14]

For much of the twentieth century, the Capital was edited by Elmer Jackson, Jr., who had been appointed in 1931.[15] In 1959, it added a Saturday morning edition.[16]

In 1967, the newspaper and its sisters were sold to Philip Merrill and Landmark Communications, who shared ownership.[17] Jackson was replaced as editor.[18] Under this ownership, which lasted until 2007, the Capital saw great success, with its circulation nearly tripling.[19] After Merrill's death in 2006, Landmark obtained full ownership of the paper; it kept this ownership until 2014, when the Capital and its related holdings were sold to the Baltimore Sun Media Group, a tronc company.[20][21]

Its change to a seven-day-a-week morning paper was announced on February 8, 2015, and implemented on March 9.[5]

As of 2018, The Capital had a daily circulation of about 33,000.[22] The papers are printed on a computerized high-speed Goss International Headliner press.

Shooting

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Main article: Capital Gazette shooting

On June 28, 2018, a man killed five employees at the Capital Gazette offices in Annapolis, Maryland:[23] journalists Rob Hiaasen,[24] Wendi Winters,[25] Gerald Fischman,[26] and John McNamara,[27] and sales assistant Rebecca Smith.[28]

The staff of The Capital and its parent company were subsequently chosen by Time as Person of the Year 2018, as one of "The Guardians," a collection of journalists from around the world in their fight against the "War on Truth."[2] On April 15, 2019, The Capital received a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation to "...honor the journalists, staff and editorial board of the Capital Gazette, Annapolis, Maryland, for their courageous response to the largest killing of journalists in U.S. history in their newsroom on June 28, 2018, and for demonstrating unflagging commitment to covering the news and serving their community at a time of unspeakable grief."[3]

References

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  1. ^ Capital Gazette
  2. ^ a b "TIME Person of the Year 2018: The Guardians". Time. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Announcement of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize Winners". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  4. ^ "About The capital". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Gunn, Steve (February 8, 2015). "We'll be saying 'Hello' earlier on weekdays". The Capital. Annapolis, Maryland.
  6. ^ Marbella, Jean (May 1, 2014). "Baltimore Sun Media Group buys The Capital in Annapolis and the Carroll County Times". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  7. ^ "About Evening capital". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  8. ^ "About Evening capital and Maryland gazette". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  9. ^ Kaltenbach, Chris (June 28, 2018). "Capital Gazette newspapers in Annapolis trace their origins to 1727". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  10. ^ Jackson, Jr., Elmer Martin (1936). And to Bed: Being a Brief History of the Maryland Gazette. Annapolis: Capital-Gazette Press.
  11. ^ Jackson, Jr., Elmer Martin (1962). Annapolis. Annapolis: Capital-Gazette Press.
  12. ^ "About Evening capital". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  13. ^ Christian, Charles M.; Christian, Thomas L. (1927). Two Hundred Years with the Maryland Gazette, 1727-1927. Annapolis: Capital-Gazette Press.
  14. ^ McWilliams, Jane Wilson (2011). Annapolis, City on the Severn: A History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0801896590.
  15. ^ "Elmer Jackson named editor". The Daily Mail. Hagerstown, Maryland. May 6, 1931.
  16. ^ "Evening paper will publish Sat. mornings". The Daily Mail. Hagerstown, Maryland.
  17. ^ "Elmer M. Jackson 3d Dies; Editor of Maryland Paper". The New York Times. August 26, 1972.
  18. ^ "Elmer M. Jackson Jr., editor, library board president". Baltimore Sun. July 18, 1995.
  19. ^ Kaltenbach, Chris (June 28, 2018). "Capital Gazette newspapers in Annapolis trace their origins to 1727". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  20. ^ "About Us". Capital Gazette. July 8, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  21. ^ Marbella, Jean (May 1, 2014). "Baltimore Sun Media Group buys The Capital in Annapolis and the Carroll County Times". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  22. ^ "Annapolis Capital Gazette". Mondo Times.
  23. ^ Bui, Lynh; Wiggins, Ovetta (June 28, 2018). "Active shooter reported at Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, police and staff say". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  24. ^ Marbella, Jean. "Capital Gazette editor Rob Hiaasen identified as victim of shooting at newspaper". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  25. ^ Wenger, Yvonne. "Capital Gazette shooting victim Wendi Winters: A prolific writer who chronicled her community". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  26. ^ Cox, Erin. "Capital Gazette shooting victim Gerald Fischman: Clever and quirky voice of a community newspaper". Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  27. ^ McDaniels, Andrea K. "Capital Gazette shooting victim John McNamara: Sports reporting was his dream job". Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  28. ^ Anderson, Jessica. "Capital Gazette shooting victim Rebecca Smith: Recent hire loved spending time with family". Retrieved June 29, 2018.
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