June 26, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 108 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E843-E844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            HONORING GERALD FISCHMAN OF THE CAPITAL GAZETTE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN P. SARBANES

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 26, 2019

  Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record an obituary of 
Gerald Fischman, a writer for the Capital Gazette in Annapolis 
Maryland.

                        [From the Baltimore Sun]

Gerald Fischman, Capital Gazette Victim Editorial Writer, Was Known and 
            Respected for His Sharp Wit and Command of Facts

                        (By Frederick Rasmussen)

       If veteran Capital Gazette editorial writer Gerald Fischman 
     could have chosen what he would be doing on the last day of 
     his life, this was it:
       He was a newspaperman.
       Mr. Fischman, longtime editorial page editor for The 
     Capital, was killed June 28 in the attack on the newspaper's 
     Annapolis office. He was 61.
       ``You know the cliche, still waters run deep? That was 
     Gerald,'' said Rick Hutzell, editor of the Capital Gazette 
     newspapers. ``He was thoughtful, witty, dedicated to his 
     craft--all the things you hear other people say. But he also 
     had a strong sense of what was moral and what was right.''
       ``He was a wonderful person and really quiet, but if you 
     took the time to get to know him you discovered how brilliant 
     he was and his extraordinary dry wit,'' said Teri Winslow, a 
     former Capital Gazette writer,

[[Page E844]]

     editor and State House correspondent who sat next to him for 
     20 years.
       ``He was a walking encyclopedia of Maryland history and 
     just plain facts. His desk was overrun with books,'' said Ms. 
     Winslow, a Hanover resident who is now digital news manager 
     for the state Department of Transportation.
       ``At night, Gerald wrote his editorials and when he was 
     finished, would help me proof the paper. . . . He never 
     missed anything, and if we found something funny we'd crack 
     up and double over laughing,'' she said.
       ``When he finished an editorial he'd read it out loud to 
     check its cadence, and had a clicker he used to count the 
     words,'' she recalled. ``He was incredibly thorough.''
       Gerald Fischman was born in Washington, the son of Morton 
     and Charlotte Fischman. He was a year old when the family 
     moved to Silver Spring.
       After graduating from high school, Mr. Fischman attended 
     the University of Maryland, College Park, and received a 
     bachelor's degree in journalism in 1979. During his college 
     days he was an editor for The Diamondback, the university's 
     student newspaper.
       He began his career in 1980 as a reporter at The Carroll 
     County Times and later was promoted to copy editor. Edward J. 
     ``Mac'' McDonough, public information officer for the 
     Maryland Emergency Management Agency, was sports editor of 
     The Times during Mr. Fischman's tenure there.
       ``Fisch, we always called him that, was very meticulous, 
     quiet and gifted, with a wry sense of humor,'' said Mr. 
     McDonough, a Towson resident who was later an editor on The 
     Baltimore Sun's old Carroll County edition.
       ``As the chaos of deadline approached, he'd come up with 
     some wry observation, and then he'd go back to work. This 
     happened fairly frequently,'' he said. ``He was a great copy 
     editor; the paper would never have gotten out on time without 
     him.''
       He recalled Mr. Fischman as being ``not gregarious . . . 
     but very engaging when talking to you. [He] was not the kind 
     of guy who'd go out for a drink with the staff after the 
     paper was put to bed.''
       In 1990 he joined the staff of The Montgomery Journal in 
     Rockville. He did a two-year stint as a copy editor, then was 
     promoted to assistant city editor.
       Ron Jones was a friend of Mr. Fischman's for more than 30 
     years. They had worked together at The Carroll County Times 
     and later The Montgomery Journal.
       ``As an editor, Gerald was incredibly thorough and always 
     had tons of questions for reporters unless their pieces were 
     incredibly well-written, which was not often,'' said Mr. 
     Jones, a Gaithersburg resident who is a night copy editor for 
     The Washington Post. ``He rarely got upset or raised his 
     voice and was always calm, collected and very detailed-
     oriented.
       ``He wanted stories to be as objective and accurate as 
     possible,'' he said. ``He wanted to know their core themes 
     and that everything made sense, and it was the same with his 
     editorials.''
       Mr. Fischman went to work for The Capital in 1992, and 
     quickly developed a reputation for his trenchant, hard-
     hitting and fact-laden editorials that reflected the 
     newspaper's community temperament and roots. Mr. McDonough 
     said his colleague ``found his niche'' at The Capital.
       ``When he had an idea for an editorial, he'd parse every 
     word and check every fact,'' he said. ``That he was a 
     survivor for more than 30 years in the business is a 
     testament to who he was.''
       Mr. Fischman was fascinated by the bizarre absurdities of 
     government and wrote often about them. He also wrote about 
     mass shootings, gun violence and gun ownership.
       ``He loved the odd things from history, and was skeptical 
     of any New Age stuff and religion,'' Mr. Jones said.
       Mr. Fischman's work earned him numerous awards from the 
     Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association--including two 
     recent honors for editorials related to the case involving a 
     noose found at a Crofton school, and a piece about censorship 
     at County Council meetings. He also received awards from the 
     Chesapeake Associated Press, as well as Mark Twain Awards for 
     Outstanding Editorial, Best Editorial and Best of Show 
     Editorial.
       Mr. Fischman brought an unflappable nature and strong work 
     ethic to the newsroom. Long hours and days were not uncommon, 
     and he steered clear of debates over long hours, low pay and 
     where newspapers will be in 10 years--or in 10 minutes.
       ``When deadlines approached and things were going on, 
     Gerald never panicked,'' recalled Mr. Jones. ``He was the 
     kind of person who always kept his cool. He was level-
     headed.''
       ``He was a human search engine and did he know Maryland 
     politics,'' Ms. Winslow said. ``He was so loved by his 
     colleagues.''
       ``I've have the difficult task of trying to write in 
     Gerald's place,'' Mr. Hutzell said. ``I've written four 
     editorials so far, and before I start every one I ask myself: 
     What would Gerald say? I wish I had half the insight into our 
     community and human nature that he brought to the job every 
     day.''
       Mr. Fischman had lived most of his life as a confirmed 
     newspaper bachelor, and surprised his colleagues when he 
     announced some years ago that he had fallen in love and was 
     marrying the former Saran Erdenebat, a noted opera singer 
     from Mongolia.
       He had met the lyric soprano at the John F. Kennedy Center 
     for the Performing Arts while attending a performance of 
     Richard Wagner's ``Die Walkure.'' They were married shortly 
     thereafter.
       The Pasadena resident who enjoyed collecting books and 
     reading was also a classical music, opera and ballet fan.
       Services scheduled for Sunday are private.
       In addition to his wife, he is survived by a stepdaughter, 
     Uka Saran of Miami, Fla.

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