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On June 28, 2018, a gunman opened fire in newsroom of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, killing five people.

Among the dead were four of the paper's editors and reporters and a sales assistant. After such a heinous tragedy, no one would have blamed the paper for shutting down for the day. No one would have blinked an eye if everyone who produces the paper had gone home to process the horror, mourn the loss of their friends and colleagues, and get away from the nightmare they had just experienced.

Police investigate the scene after a gunman killed five employees at the Capital Gazette. Photo by Saul Loeb/Getty Images.

But later on the day of the shooting, Capital Gazette reporter Chase Cook tweeted, "I can tell you this: We are putting out a damn paper tomorrow."

I can tell you this: We are putting out a damn paper tomorrow.
— Chase Cook (The tiels are Poe and Stanley) (@Chase Cook (The tiels are Poe and Stanley)) 1530225497

And they did. The Capital Gazette came out on schedule on June 29, 2018 — because journalists are amazing.

When the president and others call real journalism "fake news," these are the people they're spitting on.

Journalists are trained to run toward fire, not away from it. They're trained to look for facts and push their feelings to the side. They're trained to share true stories as objectively as possible, to recognize their own biases and do their best not to let those biases cloud their reporting. They are human, but they do their best to not let their human tendencies get in the way of truthfully reporting on what they're seeing and hearing.

I was pulling photos from the shooting today and found this one: two of the @capgaznews journalists working on tomo… https://t.co/G0PAMjabYA
— Jessica "sign up for my newsletter" Roy (@Jessica "sign up for my newsletter" Roy) 1530236560

And they keep doing that even when their entire profession — and even their existence — is being demonized and defamed. Because heroes keep showing up, even when the powers that be try to spin them into the bad guys. And when actual bad guys violently attack them, heroes keep doing what they do.

Real journalism is a real thing. It's not dead. It's not hopelessly corrupt. The vast majority of mainstream news outlets are made up of people who have chosen to dedicate their lives to seeking out truth and sharing it — even risking their own lives to do so.

Lynne Griffen, a journalism student of one of the people killed in the shooting, John McNamara, mourns near the newspaper's office. Photo via Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

The Capital Gazette publishing the day after a mass shooting in their own newsroom is just one example of journalists' heroic fortitude.

Any time we hear a Pulitzer-Prize-winning news outlet being smeared as peddling "fake news," we should picture the faces of the journalists who have died in the line of duty. The reporters, photographers, and camera operators who go to war zones to inform us of what's happening in the world, putting their own lives on the line in the process. The journalists who speak truth to power, who endure personal attacks and death threats as an unwritten part of their job description, who show up over and over no matter what because without them we would live in darkness.

A free press is enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution for a reason. Without real journalists seeking out and sharing truth, we are too easily led by propaganda, and power is too easily abused. Imagine a country where the government controls the press, where only stories the president likes are reported, where those in power choose what information the people have access to. Delegitimizing the majority of long-standing, well-reputed news outlets is a first big step toward that reality, and no free citizen should stand for it.

At the same time, journalists are human — and that humanity makes them good at their job.

Checking personal biases doesn't mean leaving humanity at the door. Despite the goal of objectively reporting the goings on in our world, people who work in the news are not robots, and we wouldn't want them to be. Sharing true stories and sharing them well requires a balance of staying detached while deeply caring.

The day after the shooting, the Capital Gazette editorial board published a simple, stark message on its opinion page that illustrates that truth.

"Today we are speechless. This page is intentionally left blank today to commemorate victims of Thursday's shooting at our office.
Gerald Fischman
Rob Hiaasen
John McNamara
Rebecca Smith
Wendi Winters
Tomorrow this page will return to its steady purpose of offering our readers informed opinion about the world around them, that they might be better citizens."

Tomorrow this Capital page will return to its steady purpose of offering readers informed opinion about the world a… https://t.co/orrSdsIR27
— Capital Gazette (@Capital Gazette) 1530263708

Here's to the heroes at the Capital Gazette, and to the thousands of journalists who keep fighting to share truth and inform our democracy.

10 tweets that reveal the bullshit female writers have to put up with.

Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash

Women have been and continue to write all types of things.

BREAKING NEWS: Women write. Professionally. For money. More at 11.

This may not seem like breaking news to most of you, but apparently, quite a few people still can't seem to wrap their heads around the idea that women write and publish works of fiction, nonfiction, journalism, and research every single day.

Some write full-time, while some balance other jobs or careers. But each one has to balance the expectations and frequent criticism from people who see the work of women writers as sub-par or only accessible to women — and the writers themselves as self-indulgent or neglectful of their homes and families.

Joanne Harris, author of more than a dozen novels, including the hit "Chocolat," which was adapted for the screen, called out this discrepancy on Twitter.

After one tweeter said, "Men sacrifice interests for family. That's a fact. I think it's a mistake to believe otherwise," Harris replied:

\u201cYes, men sometimes make sacrifices, but let's not pretend society really expects them to in the way it expects women to put family first.\u201d
— Joanne Harris (@Joanne Harris) 1492437402

And, with that, the hashtag #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear was born.

Harris started the hashtag, and almost immediately, women writers from around the world shared their stories from the industry and ridiculous microagressions they field from people (mostly men) every single day.

1. Women are often encouraged to go by pseudonyms or use their initials so people don't know they're women.

"Make your pen name more masculine. You know, like J.D. Robb. Then boys and men will want to read you." #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear— Larysia ☕ (@Larysia ☕) 1492522127.0

2. Ask a boy to enjoy a story from the point of view of a girl? Perish the thought.

\u201c"I just don't see why you expect 50% of the population to identify with a girl. Boys just can't do that." #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear\u201d
— Sisona CR (@Sisona CR) 1492467561

3. Conversely, it's also OK if women want to write male protagonists. We can do that too.

"Why don't you write female protagonists? You're not a guy." I'm also not a sorcerer but I write them too. #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear— Andrea McAuley (@Andrea McAuley)1492475604.0

4. These backward, outdated attitudes affect women writers across all genres.

\u201c"But none of us [men] would want to read that!" Friend's husband when I was talking about lady superheroes. #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear\u201d
— Lexie Dunne (@Lexie Dunne) 1492522408

5. Don't try to write about mythical creatures. Those belong to men.

"I looked this up online and there are no female werewolves." 😂😂😂😂😭😭😭😥😥😢😑 #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear— MsGucciSu (@MsGucciSu) 1492471363.0

6. It's not just content either. Too often, women writers have to clap back at people who assume their work is a hobby instead of a professional pursuit.

Yes but why do you need childcare? It's not a job. Surely you can write at the park. #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear— Anna Yeatts (@Anna Yeatts) 1492525177.0

7. Because how stressful can balancing a career, home, and family be — right? (Actually, pretty damn stressful.)

\u201c(From a doctor because my BP had sky-rocketed)What kind of stress could an author/housewife possibly have? #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear\u201d
— Pamela Ackerson, multi-genre author (@Pamela Ackerson, multi-genre author) 1492530442

8. But even a hashtag meant to bring a problem to light and help women support and encourage one another was co-opted by fragile men.

9. Men were quick to jump into the conversation to say this problem didn't exist or that they were affected too.

Yes, we're well aware of the success of J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, and E.L. James. They are icons, to be sure. But the success of three women doesn't negate the lived experiences of thousands more.

One person even reached out to me while I was sourcing tweets for this story and tried to tell me not to write it.

@yeswecanty @ELatimerWrites @Upworthy WHATEVER YOU ARE WRITING FUCKING STOP, Men are not against you, and a tweet m… https://t.co/zL691pXOFQ— Gen (@Gen) 1492527725.0

Yes, this is a person telling a woman writer not to write about sexism against women writers.

10. But it should be said: Women in publishing don't stop at writers. We're founders, agents, editors, and decision makers. And yes, assholes, we see you.

\u201cFor the male writers snarking on the #ThingsOnlyWomenWritersHear hashtag. LOTS of female agents/editors. We see you & your sexism, bro.\u201d
— E Latimer(News&Updates) (@E Latimer(News&Updates)) 1492497392

Because we're not victims — we just want to write.

We'd much rather these anecdotes and experiences didn't exist. We'd much rather be writing than sharing anecdotes on a hashtag.

Until these belittling experiences end, we'll share them to support each other and tell the world what we're up against. Not to feel sorry for ourselves, but to let you know how hard we had to work to beat you at your own game.

We most certainly will.