Dear Readers,

In case you didn't notice, last week was a tough one for those of us in the news business.

A couple of guys walked into the offices of a satirical magazine in Paris called Charlie Hebdo. They asked for the editor and some cartoonists and opened fire. They killed 12 staffers because they objected to stories and cartoons that had appeared in the publication.

This is not the place to go into the rest of the details of the crime, the police chase, the standoff and the world-wide reaction to it. You can read all about it in the daily newspapers, on the Internet and watch the video clips of the French cops and the bad guys on TV.

But for those of us who have spent many years working in the offices of news operations, the whole incident put a knot in our collective stomachs.

We all know that sometimes we write stories that make folks happy. We all know that sometimes our stories make folks mad. Sometimes they get really mad.

As youngsters, we start in the news business with blinders firmly attached to our foreheads. We are excited about having a chance to make a living with our writing skills. We are excited at having the chance to get to watch the exciting events of the day. We are excited about joining a team of men and women who can make a difference in the lives of our friends and fellow citizens.

Sure, the news business is all about those things. There is also a dark side that few talk about in journalism school.

Every reporter has a story about answering the phone and being chewed out for something that appeared in their publication.

Callers might be mad because of a name misspelled in Aunt Flossie's obituary, or an inference in a political story, or because an idiot editor just changed the size of the crossword puzzle. Sometimes readers just get mad at something they think they read in another publication.

Our founding fathers made freedom of speech and of the press part of our Constitution because they believed our nation needs to exchange ideas if it is to remain free.

However, sometimes it is the very exchange and discussion of different points of view that makes people mad.

The bad guys who gunned down the staff of a magazine in Paris are not the first who have responded, with deadly force, to stories they objected to.

A case in point happened in 1837, when an Illinois mob murdered an Albion, Maine man named Elijah Parish Lovejoy and destroyed his printing operation. This mob objected to his antislavery stories.

That was not the first time readers took exception to stories in their newspaper. It will not be the last time, either.

Last week, at a little satirical magazine in the heart of Paris, we were once again reminded that some of the freedoms we all take for granted are not always free.

In that case, the bad guys said they wanted to die as martyrs to their cause. Instead they turned the staff of a little satirical magazine into martyrs for the cause of free speech.

And much of the world stood with the slain journalists chanting a new slogan “Je Suis Charlie” (I am Charlie).

May they rest in peace.