Rob Hiaasen, a "Great Colleague and a Real Craftsman," Killed in the Capital Gazette Shootout



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Rob Hiaasen wrote about snorkeling on the snow.

He wrote about his bat house: "Bats can eat up to 1,200 insects per hour. . . .

He wrote about a conversation with his dog, Earle.

Among those killed in the shooting Thursday at the Annapolis Capital Gazette newspaper, there was a veteran columnist, the editor and professor of journalism, telling his family.

Hiaasen, 59, the brother of successful writer and journalist Carl Hiaasen, was an editor at the Baltimore Sun for 15 years before joining the capital in 2010 as an assistant. publisher

Lately he had been the author of a regular Sunday Chronicle

A native of Fort Lauderdale and a graduate of the University of Florida, he had been reporter at the Palm Beach Post and "I just want people to know how incredibly kind, generous and talented my brother was," said Carl Hiaasen in a telephone interview on Thursday night

. was an unforgettable hot and uplifti "He also devoted his entire life to journalism," he said. "And he liked this paper, he liked this newsroom, and he liked the idea of ​​hometown, old-fashioned journalism."

Hiaasen was a Floridian and a Marylander, a cynical 6 feet 5 and a softy.

In a recent column, he wrote about a lost cat:

"First of all, I've been harassed for a long time by accusations that I'm romantic and sentimental (guilty, guilty So what if I can not pass a missing cat / but mostly a missing dog poster and do not blink? And what if I always stopped to tell stories of missing cats but mostly dogs ?

Have not we all disappeared at one time or another? "

In another chronicle, he was crying the death of a rock star Tom Petty, a native of Florida:

] "What good music is good music is the music you put on when you're alone or you do not want to be alone, and anyway the music makes you feel something in your guts One day, and if it is not love or grief or challenge or hope, then that is it's pretty close. "

Last Mother's Day, he writes of his late mother:

" As a neutral biographer, she has tidied the chapters of my life all their messy hope. She recorded my job changes, relationship changes, address changes, mood changes, hair color changes – her youngest becoming gray at 28 years old! Well, my dear, that's fine with you, she said.

And under the influence of last winter, he wrote about snorkeling, in which he donned flippers, mask and snorkel and plunged his face into a snow mound. "No marine life was visible," he said.

"He was a great colleague and a true craftsman in writing," said his former editor at Baltimore Sun, William K. Marimow. "He really cherished good writing and worked on every sentence and every word in his stories."

Regarding his famous brother, Carl, Marimow said, "I think [Rob] really admired his brother, but he wanted to make sure he dug his own niche." And he l & rsquo; did it with great success. "

Carl Hiaasen, 65, said," He was my little brother, but he was so much bigger than me as a person. "

" I have has been in this business for 42 years and … watch the horror unfold on the cable news and write my columns about it and all, "he said. "And yet, it's a horror that unfolds in this country, it seems like every few weeks."

Rob was also an adjunct professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

He was the youngest of four children He is survived by his wife, Maria, a son and two daughters, said his brother

Thursday night, as fears for his well-being increased, friends have expressed their concerns on his Facebook page. ", I wrote," I want to hear your voice and know that you're well. "

" Rob, hoping and praying that you're safe, "said another."

"Rob would be hurt to Saying it out loud, but Rob, I "

In April, he updated his cover photo Facebook

He stands on a beach, back to the camera, looking par- he wears a blue T-shirt and a white cap, and he wears his shoes

Joe Heim, Arelis R. Hernandez and Reis Thebault contributed to this story .

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