The Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting

Above: Photographs from our workshop last fall. By Kriston Jae Bethel.

This week: Take a deep dive into our first Gun Violence Prevention Reporter Certification Workshop last fall, in a new report written by participant Sammy Caiola for the Reynold Journalism Institute, where PCGVR founder and director Jim MacMillan launched the organization in 2019: Philadelphia center gives reporters, editors new tools for deeper, more trauma-sensitive coverage of gun violence [RJI]

We are making plans now to train 250 more journalists at a national conference here in Philadelphia next spring. Stay tuned for details.

Read the rest of our Weekly Brief and subscribe for free to get future editions in your mailbox every Thursday morning: The Weekly Brief: 09.12.24

PCGVR director of research Dr. Jessica Beard introduced our new Better Gun Violence Reporting Toolkit at Health Journalism 2024 in New York recently, while participating on a panel titled “In your lane: Covering America’s biggest public health crisis.”

From left:Dr. Beard, Dr. Ruth Abaya of The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention and Jennifer Mascia of The Trace

• More info and photos: PCGVR research director presents at Health Journalism 2024
• Panel recap: Why gun violence is a public health emergency
• Related:  Covering Firearm Violence — How journalists can reframe their reporting

PCGVR director Jim MacMillan and research director Dr. Jessica Beard discuss gun violence, prevention and the role of the media on The Trauma Beat podcast with journalist, trauma researcher and author Tamara Cherry, which explores how the news media covers traumatic events, the impact this coverage has on survivors and journalists, and how we all might be able to tell (and consume) these very important stories, better. Based on Tamara’s book, The Trauma Beat: A Case for Re-Thinking the Business of Bad News. Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

PCGVR newsroom liaison Oronde McClain takes a question from host Loraine Ballard Morrill. Photograph for PCGVR by Kriston Jae Bethel.

Hundreds of people joined us at the Temple Performing Arts Center on April 17 for the Philadelphia premiere of The Second Trauma, our documentary addressing the harmful effects of episodic gun violence news reporting and possible solutions, produced in collaboration with the Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting at Temple University.

To learn more, see photos, listen to the panel discussions and request a screening: Hundreds attend Philadelphia premiere of The Second Trauma documentary  

Above: Researchers participating in the interdisciplinary collaborative led by Dr. Jessica Beard met recently at Temple University Hospital to discuss future studies. 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.

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]

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