Above: Researchers participating in the interdisciplinary collaborative led by Dr. Jessica Beard met recently at Temple University Hospital to discuss future studies. Photograph for PCGVR by Kriston Jae Bethel.
Two new studies led by PCGVR Director of Research Dr. Jessica Beard have been published:
• Systematic disparities in reporting on community firearm violence on local television news in Philadelphia, PA, USA [Preventive Medicine Reports]
• Public health framing of firearm violence on local television news in Philadelphia, PA, USA: a quantitative content analysis [BMC Public Health]
“News stories may be the only window into community firearm violence that the general public has, and they often are not getting a complete picture, but instead one that research has indicated can lead audiences to blame victims, reinforce racist stereotypes and undermine effective public health responses.” – PCGVR Director of Research Dr. Jessica Beard.
Press release and contact info: Two New Studies Led by Lewis Katz School of Medicine’s Dr. Jessica Beard More Closely Examine How Reports of Community Firearm Violence Are Framed on Local Television News in Philadelphia [Temple Health News]
Above: PCGVR Director of Research Dr. Jessica Beard leads meeting of PCGVR interdisciplinary research collaborative at Temple University Hospital on April 12, 2024. In top photo from left are: Dr. Christopher Morrison, Assistant Professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; Raha Raissian, Medical student at Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine; Siena Wanders, Medical student at Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine; Dr. Beard, Dr. Anita Wamakima, Temple General Surgery resident; Dr. Jennifer Midberry, Associate Professor at Temple University Klein College; Dr. Evan Eschliman, Post-doctoral research fellow at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; and Tyrone Muns, Temple nurse and research assistant. Photographs for PCGVR by Kriston Jae Bethel.
01.10.24: The core team behind The Second Trauma, our new collaborative short documentary, was invited to speak in Philadelphia at the Crime Coverage Summit organized by the Radio Television Digital News Association and National Press Foundation, with support from Arnold Ventures. Scroll down to watch trailer from The Second Trauma and learn about screening opportunities.
We had a breakout year in 2023, leveraging new and renewed funding to expand our staff, convene more events, provide support to more than 80 community experts and professional journalists, collaborate with more than 30 organizations, publish our first study and share findings from more. YEAR IN REVIEW
The Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting was launched to explore the hypotheses that changing the way some journalists and news organizations cover gun violence can prevent shootings and save lives. Since then, our research collaborative has refined this focus by identifying harmful reporting practices, asking what best practices would look like and how they could be implemented. Now, we have organized our work into three closely-aligned programs:
Our community reporting project empowers people impacted by gun violence to report on root causes, lived experience and possible solutions from the community perspective. Credible Messengers are paired with advanced professional journalists to learn from each other and leverage their combined authority to produce and distribute independent news reports. READ MORE
We facilitate an interdisciplinary research collaborative that is exploring the intersection of gun violence, impacted communities and the media. Our Director or Research Dr. Jessica Beard presented our work last spring at the SAVIR conference in Washington. Dr. Jennifer Midberry presented at ICA in Paris. READ MORE
What does the most ethical, impactful and empathetic reporting look like when covering community gun violence? We collaborate with journalists, community representatives and other experts to advance reporting practices. READ MORE
