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Capital Gazette Shooting Victims Included In TIME Magazine's 'Person of the Year' Honorees

BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) -- TIME Magazine released it's 2018 'Person of the Year' Tuesday morning. The winner is a group of people, journalists who were either imprisoned or killed for their work around the world. The magazine called it "The Guardians and the War on Truth."

Included in the list are the five victims of the Capital Gazette shooting in Annapolis. Police say gunman Jarrod Ramos, who had a grudge against the newspaper, blasted his way into the newsroom on June 28, killing John McNamara, Wendi Winters, Rob Hiaasen, Rebecca Smith and Gerald Fischman.

Also included was Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi journalist was last seen on surveillance video as he entered the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. A critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi journalist was killed, although there is debate about who ordered the execution.

"They are representative of a broader fight by countless others around the world — as of Dec. 10, at least 52 journalists have been murdered in 2018 — who risk all to tell the story of our time," Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal wrote in an essay.

Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday he was "proud that the Capital is my hometown newspaper, and I have the greatest respect for all of the incredible men and women who work there."

"One hundred and sixty-six days ago, we lost five members of our community in a heinous act of violence. Today, they are immortalized as their family at the Capital Gazette is recognized as a TIME Person of the Year. I will always be proud that the Capital is my hometown newspaper, and I have the greatest respect for all of the incredible men and women who work there. Journalism is a noble profession upon which our democracy depends, and these honorable individuals - and their colleagues across the state - serve each day to shine light on the world around us so that we might see with more clarity and greater understanding. We will always remember Gerald Fischman, Robert Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith, and Wendi Winters."

Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, who has been arrested; and Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who have been detained in Myanmar for nearly a year were also included on the list.

Time selected them "for taking great risks in pursuit of greater truths, for the imperfect but essential quest for facts that are central to civil discourse, for speaking up and speaking out."

Khashoggi was killed two months ago when The Washington Post columnist, who had lived in the U.S., visited Saudi Arabia's consulate in Turkey for paperwork so he could get married. He had been critical of the Saudi regime.

Reesa is an award-winning Philippine journalist who, along with the online news service she heads, has been accused of tax evasion. Her website has been critical of the government of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, and she claims the charges are politically motivated.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been imprisoned for nearly a year in Myanmar after investigating a massacre of Rohingya Muslims.

Four journalists and a sales assistant were killed by a gunman at the Capital Gazette newspaper last spring.

Forty-six journalists worldwide were killed in 2017, according to data collected by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The nonprofit group reported 50 deaths in 2016 and 73 in 2015. There were 262 journalists imprisoned worldwide in 2017.

Since 1927, Time has selected individuals or groups to appear on its cover for the end-of-the-year feature. This was the first time someone named was no longer alive. Those chosen this year will appear in four different cover photos.

President Donald Trump, who was chosen Person of the Year in 2016, was runner-up. "His ultimate impact may be determined as much by the resistance he engenders as by the goals he pursues," the magazine said.

Special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation into contacts between Trump associates and Russia, was the next runner-up.

For a full list of those honored by TIME Magazine click here.

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