Weekly Brief: 09.27.23
Each week we share news from our Center plus local updates on gun violence and prevention from our partners at Billy Penn.
This week: Survivor perspectives, PCGVR events, White House announcement and more.
Slideshow: PCGVR goes to Penn
Staffers from the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting were invited to discuss Reporting Gun Violence: Media, Ethics and Community Intervention at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, thanks to an invitation from the Center for Media at Risk and the SAFELab at the Annenberg School for Communication. Photographs by Kyle Cassidy: Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. VIEW THE SLIDE SHOW
Recognizing lived expertise and hard work
Left to right: Oronde McCain, Dashawn Walker and Maxayn Gooden.
Congratulations to our new intern Dashawn Walker and staffers Maxayn Gooden and Oronde McClain, each of whom has been recognized with the Lenfest Next Generation Award. Four other new recipients are also past, present or incoming participants in our Credible Messenger Reporting Project.
Dashawn is a Shippensburg University student from Philadelphia and has joined in our efforts to end harmful news reporting and raise the voices of survivors, like himself. The Lenfest Next Generation Fund has also supported our previous interns Sheila Hodges and Maria Mitri.
PCGVR team takes part in Save Our Streets: The Survivors
A new report from Save Our Streets host Bill Anderson on Fox 29 Philadelphia features several of our staffers and key partners sharing their personal stories of survival.
From left above: PCGVR intern Dashawn Walker, Armond James, PCGVR community manager Maxayn Gooden, TJ Walker, Angela Wade, PCGVR newsroom liaison Oronde McClain, Bill Anderson of FOX 29 and Curtis Singleton. Armond and TJ are participating in current PCGVR Credible Messenger projects and Armond and Angela will appear in the upcoming documentary The Second Trauma, hosted and co-produced by Oronde.
Collaborating with journalists
Our Credible Messenger Newsroom Liaison Oronde McClain and our new Lenfest Next Generation Intern Dashawn Walker were interviewed for a special report from NBC10 this week: Philly gun violence survivor overcomes his trauma, uplifts other victims
We are grateful to NBC10 for joining in us in the pursuit of more empathetic, ethical, impactful reporting in gun violence and prevention. WATCH THE VIDEOS
Incredible August full of PCGVR making national conference appearances
We had an incredible August at PCGVR, making the case for better gun violence reporting on panels at three national conferences, culminating with the Online News Association (ONA) Conference here in Philadelphia. READ MORE
New podcast episode takes a deep dive into our research and more
The It’s All Journalism podcast digs into our work with our director of research Dr. Jessica Beard. LISTEN
Slideshow: 2nd annual Credible Messenger Film Festival
We gathered at Temple University on July 29 for our Second Annual Credible Messenger Film Festival, this time screening several short documentaries from some of our favorite partnering organizations, each followed by panel discussions including some of the producers, participants and other media experts. VIEW THE SLIDESHOW
New slide show: Credible Messenger Link-Up and Info Session
More than 40 people attended our first Credible Messenger Link-Up and Info Session on May 6 at Temple University. We hope to launch five new reporting teams in our Credible Messenger Reporting Project soon and the first step is to apply. MORE PHOTOS AND INFO
Photographs by Kriston Jae Bethel
Sharing our story
Our team joined the Full Frame Initiative and another special guest recently to discuss how solutions might be unlocked by fundamentally shifting the way we talk about gun violence. The panel included Maxayn Gooden, Oronde McClain and Jim MacMillan from our Center as well as Cheryl Thompson-Morton, Black Media Initiative Director at the Newmark J-School at CUNY, and was moderated by Tanya Tucker, Chief of National Engagement and Partnerships at the Full Frame Initiative.
Survivor perspectives
Reliving the trauma. Frustrated with inaccuracies. Feeling dehumanized. These were just some of the harmful effects that gun violence survivors described when asked how they perceived news media reporting about their injuries and about gun violence in their communities.
“Like I’m a nobody:” firearm-injured peoples’ perspectives on news media reporting about firearm violence was published recently in Social Science and Medicine: Qualitative Research in Health. READ MORE
PCGVR research and program update
We recently had the opportunity to present our work to the Firearm Injury Prevention Institute at the University of Colorado.
Stoneleigh Foundation webinar
Our team participated in “Changing the Narrative on Gun Violence: The Role of Media,” from the Stoneleigh Foundation. WATCH THE VIDEO
NPR checks in with our research director
Our director of research Dr. Jessica Beard discusses harmful gun violence reporting on Consider This. (Jump to 4:05 for Dr. Beard or listen to the whole report.)
Better Gun Violence Reporting Workshop
Nearly 60 Philadelphia TV news journalists, community leaders and other experts came together to imagine how we can lead the way in our city to advance the most ethical, empathetic and impactful reporting possible. READ MORE
Healthcare journalism summit
Our Director of Research Dr. Jessica Beard introduced our work at “Reporting on Violence as a Public Health Issue,” a summit organized by the Association of Heath Care Journalists. Listen:
Get to know us
Our director of research Dr. Jessica Beard discussed our work on Trauma Code at WBAI in New York.
Credible Messenger Reporting Project audio documentary
Tashawn Strother, a community journalist from our Credible Messenger Reporting Project, hosts an audio documentary sharing her family’s journey after her son Walter Willis was shot and critically wounded on New Year’s Eve in 2019. Voices include our Director of Research Dr. Jessica Beard, who is also the trauma surgeon who cared for Walter – and Walter himself. LISTEN: BEHIND THE SCENES INTERVIEWS
Our Director of Research Dr. Jessica Beard participated in this media panel addressing the role and responsibilities of the media. Click to play now, read about the event at Billy Penn and feel free to embed this video from YouTube.
Better Gun Violence Reporting Summit
We organized the inaugural Better Gun Violence Reporting Summit at WHYY in Philadelphia shortly in late 2019. Nearly 250 people attended from around the city and across the nation. VIEW THE INTERACTIVE AGENDA
Community Conversations Day
In advance of the Summit, we invited 15 Philadelphia journalists who play some role covering gun violence to spend a day with 30 residents from core communities impacted by the problem in the city. READ MORE
