Weekly Brief: 05.22.25
Each week we share news from our center, local updates from our partners at Billy Penn and all the latest gun violence and prevention headlines. Read More
You can meet the leaders of the Association of Gun Violence Reporters (AGVR) if you are attending either of two upcoming national journalism conferences:
At Health Journalism 2025 next week in Los Angeles:
On Thursday, May 29 from 5 to 6 p.m. local time, the AGVR team will be featured during a networking reception sponsored by the Joyce Foundation and the Blue Shield of California Foundation. If you are registered for the conference, just go to room Aviation 2.
At IRE 25 next month in New Orleans:
On Friday June 20th, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. local time, the AGVR team be available during a “brown bag” lunch event, location TBD.
From the archives:
Stay tuned for more news from AGVR coming soon. For now, you can reach the AGVR team through the PCGVR contact page: Send us a message
Above, from left: AGVR Co-Directors Sammy Caiola and Abené Clayton, and Chapter Leaders Jennifer Mascia, Alain Stephens and Kaitlin Washburn.
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to our Lightning Round campaign. Your support will put a printed copy of our Better Gun Violence Toolkit in the hands of 150 more journalists. We learned a lot about crowdfunding too. YOU CAN STILL SUPPORT THIS CAMPAIGN
Clockwise from top-left, above: PCGVR research director Dr. Jessica Beard and newsroom liaison Oronde McClain, Temple University Journalism Prof. Yvonne Latty, who also directs the Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting at Temple, and PCGVR founder and director Jim MacMillan. (Missouri School of Journalism photos)
Each year, the PCGVR team visits dozens of newsrooms, conferences, colleges and universities across the country. Last year, we started turning toward more national activities and impact.
Above: Researchers participating in our collaborative gathered for a meeting at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. Photo by Kriston Jae Bethel for PCGVR.
PCGVR director of research Dr. Jessica Beard is the corresponding author on our most recent study: Defining harmful news reporting on community firearm violence: A modified Delphi consensus study.
The study included 21 experts — from the gun violence survivor community, journalism practice, and scholarship — who identified 12 specific harmful elements found in news reports and then rated those harms across individual, community and society levels. FINDINGS | READ THE STUDY | OUR PREVIOUS RESEARCH
The Survivor Connection is a new resource intended to make experts from the gun violence survivor community more readily accessible to journalists in Philadelphia.. READ THE PRESS RELEASE | VISIT THE WEB SITE
Our director of research Dr. Jessica Beard joined three of our favorite reporting partners for a discussion on how to shift story framing to one that emphasizes solutions, prevention methods, and data. This is a master class.
Clockwise above from top, left: Moderator Laura Bennet, director of The Center for Just Journalism, and AGVR founding staffers: Jennifer Mascia from The Trace and CNN, independent journalist Alain Stephens, Sammy Caiola from the Kensington Voice and Abené Clayton from The Guardian.
Leaders of the new Association of Gun Violence Reporters kicked off activities with a webinar in December, 2024. The organization was launched with support from PCGVR. WATCH NOW.
“Run, Hide, Fight: Growing up under the gun,” is a new documentary produced by PBS News Student Reporting Labs and featuring stories produced by 14 young journalists from around the country, including an interview with PCGVR director or research Dr. Jessica Beard. WATCH THE FULL DOCUMENTARY | JUMP TO DR. BEARD’S INTERVIEW
The Second Trauma documentary tour is underway. We are visiting colleges and universities, journalism conferences, newsrooms and other organizations. To request an exclusive screening and expert panel discussion, visit: thesecondtrauma.net
02.16.24: PCGVR director Jim MacMillan and Alaina Bookman of AL.com discussed our recent Gun Violence Prevention Reporter Certification Workshop in this webinar hosted by the Association of Health Care Journalists.
Some of the data is this video is now out of date but this is still a great primer on public health strategies to prevent gun violence, including interviews with our research director Dr. Jessica Beard and a couple of our favorite partners.
We were honored with the opportunity to co-produce and participate in this invigorating and informative conversation on advancing community-centered and solutions-oriented reporting on gun violence in Philadelphia and other U.S. cities in 2022.
We are here to dispel myths, elevate facts, provide hope, build resilience, and amplify the voices of victims and survivors of gun violence that, for far too long, have been silenced, ignored, diminished, and undervalued. But we need your help.
Philly-based organization republishes Surgeon General’s gun violence advisory after Trump admin removes it [Association of Health Care Journalists]
Each week we share news from our center, local updates from our partners at Billy Penn and all the latest gun violence and prevention headlines. Read More
Since we launched in 2020, PCGVR programs, staffers, partners, events, participants and impact have been featured in nearly 150 news reports. For the complete list, please visit: Media Mentions: PCGVR in the News
We now concentrate our social media efforts entirely on Bluesky. JOIN US
News coverage of gun violence often inadvertently perpetuates stereotypical narratives about the people and communities most impacted. Typical coverage focuses on individual episodes of gun violence and often lacks an explanation of what causes it and what could be done to prevent it. These reporting practices can further stigmatize marginalized communities and promote fatalism around gun violence prevention. By changing the way gun violence is covered, reporters can take an active role in minimizing harm to injured people, communities, and society—and even make an important contribution toward preventing gun violence.
Please enter your email address to view the mobile version, download the printable pdf or request printed copies now:
In June, 2024, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy published a landmark Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence, declaring firearm violence in America to be a public health crisis, along with a companion video. Somebody took them down. We put them back online. GET THE ADVISORY | MORE INFO | SUPPORT PCGVR
Funders
• The Stoneleigh Foundation
• Independence Public Media Foundation
• Spring Point Partners
• The William Penn Foundation
• HFGF
• Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund
• The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
• The Alfred and Mary Douty Foundation
• Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri
• Philadelphia Office of Violence Prevention
• The Barra Foundation Directors Grant Program
In-kind contributors
• WHYY
• Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists
• Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri
• Mothers in Charge
• AH Datalytics
• Action Tank
• The Scattergood Foundation
• Resolve Philly
• Fels Lab at the University of Pennsylvania
Community Partners
• Mothers in Charge
• YEAH Philly
• Zero Homicides Now
• Need in Deed
Media Partners
• Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting
• WHYY & Billy Penn
• The Trace & Up the Block
• Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists
• 5 Shorts Project
• Kouvenda Media
• Seeking Solutions: Gun Violence in Missouri
• Philadelphia Obituary Project
• Resolve Philly
• WURD Radio
• Columbia Journalism Review
• The Student Vanguard at Community College of Philadelphia
• Revive Radio
Summit partner institutions
• Reynolds Journalism Institute, University of Missouri
• Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma as Columbia University
• WHYY
• The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
• The Trace
• The Guardian: Guns and Lies
• Coalition of Trauma Centers for Firearm Injury Prevention
• Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
• Guns & America, WAMU
• Mothers in Charge
Research shows when enacted in combination, these five key policies and programmatic priorities have the potential to save countless lives. Related: Reducing Gun Violence in America: Evidence for Change [Coursera]
If you or someone you know is suicidal, in crisis, or in need of general mental health support, please know help is available. You can contact your physician, local hospital emergency room, or any of the hotlines, text lines, web chats, and support groups listed below. Most are free and confidential resources. Many are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988
• Crisis Text Line: 741741
• Lifeline Chat web chat service
• Samaritans’ Helpline: (877) 870-4673 (available in 240+ languages)
Journalists: Take this online course on Responsible Reporting on Suicide. (You can audit for free or pay to get certified.)
The Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting
c/o CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia
1315 Walnut Street, Suite 300
Philadelphia, PA 19107
The Philadelphia Center Gun Violence Reporting is the primary project of The Initiative for Better Gun Violence Reporting. The Initiative is co-managed with fiscal sponsorship by CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia and is a member of CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia. EIN: 46-3109411
Your attention and concern mean the world.
Before you go, please also visit: ibgvr.wedid.it