Readers unhappy with the press have usually stuck to writing letters to the editor or canceling subscriptions. Viewers offended by a TV report might switch channels or post negative comments online. Rarely do they turn to violence—though in 2018, a disgruntled reader in Annapolis, Maryland, killed five journalists, marking the deadliest attack on media workers in U.S. history.
That wasn’t, however, the first time a reader and an editor came to blows. In 1829, Charles Wickliffe, editor of The Kentucky Gazette, was slain in a duel by a reader insulted when Wickliffe compared him to a horse thief. Editors didn’t fare well in 19th century duels as it turns out, suggesting that writers proved mightier with a pen than a pistol.
This pattern of violence against journalists is chronicled for the first time by Elizabeth Atwood in her new book, “Deadline: 200 Years of Violence Against Journalists in the United States” (University of Missouri Press). Atwood spent 22 years reporting for the Baltimore Sun and now teaches journalism as an associate professor at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. She also worked alongside Rob Hiaasen, one of the Annapolis victims.
Atwood organizes her book around five categories of attacks: those targeting individuals, attempts to halt reporting, assaults on institutions, assaults on ideas, and violence during wars. In total, she examines 79 incidents in depth.
Today’s disputes are often settled in court, but in the 18th and 19th centuries, libel and slander laws offered limited protection. Politicians sometimes invoked the Sedition Act, while others challenged editors to duels or fistfights. With no formal code of ethics, some editors even planted letters under false names or published sensational claims without evidence, Atwood reports.
Although merchants and politicians frequently bristled at criticism, many readers welcomed the publicity and stood by the editors. One notable case occurred in 1856, when a San Francisco newspaper editor who accused a political candidate of ballot-box stuffing was murdered in public. His killer was later convicted and lynched by a mob—reportedly the first time in American history that a journalist’s death was avenged.
In seeking solutions, Atwood notes that violence against journalists remains rare, but she warns that many attacks worldwide go unpunished. She cites scholars who advocate new legislation to protect reporters and calls for enhanced safety training for those covering dangerous assignments.
Her book offers a comprehensive history of assaults against journalists, reminding us that even in a democracy where free speech is constitutionally guaranteed, the threat of violence endures.
It is available on Amazon and other online platforms.
Tom Marquardt is a governor-at-large for the Press Club of Southwest Florida and a retired editor of the Capital-Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland. His book, “Pressed to Kill: Newspapers’ Worst Mass Murder,” chronicles the death of five journalists at his former newspaper.