MU Alumna Raises Money for Victims of Capital Gazette Shooting | Local | Columbiamissourian.Com

8/4/2018 MU alumna raises money for victims of Capital Gazette shooting | Local | columbiamissourian.com

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BY CARY LITTLEJOHN Jun 30, 2018

Five people are dead after a gunman opened re inside the newsroom of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland, Thursday afternoon.

When the news broke, an MU alumna wasted no time in reaching out to help the survivors.

Madi Alexander, who graduated with a master’s degree in journalism in 2016 and now works as a data journalist for Bloomberg Government in Washington, turned to social media after hearing the news, specically a Facebook group of about 8,000 female journalists, to brainstorm ways to show support for the paper and survivors of the shooting.

“There are dozens of comments on this thread of people saying, ‘I’d like to donate money, I’d like to donate food, I’d like to bring care packages, whatever they possibly need help with,’” Alexander said.

Her idea? A GoFundMe campaign.

After making the suggestion in the Facebook group, a columnist from the Gazette responded to Alexander’s post and agreed with the idea. Alexander wasn’t sure she was the best person to organize the campaign since she didn’t know anyone in the newsroom, but she didn’t let that uncertainty stop her.

“It seems like the least we can do in the meantime, while we have all these people who want to help. Clearly everyone is just desperate to help,” Alexander said. “It gives people an outlet to express some of their grief and sadness and do what they could to help the families.”

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/mu-alumna-raises-money-for-victims-of-capital-gazette-shooting/article_7c260b88-7bdc-11e8-8521-23758e142fc9.… 1/3 8/4/2018 MU alumna raises money for victims of Capital Gazette shooting | Local | columbiamissourian.com Alexander’s fundraiser seeks to help the newsroom and its journalists pay for whatever costs might arise from the shooting, including “medical bills, funeral costs, newsroom repairs and other unforeseen expenses,” according to the GoFundMe page.

Alexander was not alone in wanting to help the Gazette and its journalists. As of noon on Saturday, 3,372 people had donated over $175,178 in just two days. Throughout the day on Friday, the campaign was trending on GoFundMe’s homepage.

Alexander updated the GoFundMe page as the donations came rolling in, letting donors know that because public response to the campaign was so strong, GoFundMe suggested raising the goal each time it was met. Her initial campaign started with a goal of $10,000, and overwhelming support for the campaign has come from “all 50 states and 14 countries,” according to Alexander’s update. The goal now sits at $200,000.

On Friday, Tronc, Inc., owner of the Gazette, announced the establishment of The Capital Gazette Families Fund to assist those aected by the shooting. The fund will be managed through The Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County, and Alexander said she had contacted the Foundation about making them the beneciary of her GoFundMe campaign.

“I have an ability to designate one person so they can transfer all of the money directly out of the account into the foundation pool,” Alexander said. “So it’s all going to go to the employees.”

Alexander deected any focus on her eorts in the fundraising process, saying if she hadn’t started the campaign, someone else would have.

“Everyone else has done the heavy lifting. I just put the thing up and gave them a way to express some of that emotion,” she said.

But she used the GoFundMe platform to remind donors of the Gazette’s dedication to journalism as its Friday edition was published without interruption.

“Hell or high water, the paper goes out,” Alexander said. “Especially this paper. It’s been around for 200-something years. I mean, it’s got to be heartbreaking for them and traumatizing to have to report on the deaths of your own colleagues, but then again, who better to do it? They know the newsroom, they know the community, they know the families. They’re not just co-workers. I mean, they cover their community together; they’re a family.” https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/mu-alumna-raises-money-for-victims-of-capital-gazette-shooting/article_7c260b88-7bdc-11e8-8521-23758e142fc9.… 2/3 8/4/2018 MU alumna raises money for victims of Capital Gazette shooting | Local | columbiamissourian.com She posted links to the Gazette’s obituaries of its colleagues, implored donors to remember the lives of those who were killed and left donors with this thought: “Community journalism matters.”

Supervising editor is Titus Wu.

Cary Littlejohn Summer 2018 reporter. I'm a graduate student focusing on magazine writing. If you have a story tip, drop me a line at [email protected].

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/mu-alumna-raises-money-for-victims-of-capital-gazette-shooting/article_7c260b88-7bdc-11e8-8521-23758e142fc9.… 3/3