PBS Vitals interviewed our Director of Research Dr. Jessica Beard, our research partner Dr. Sara Jacoby and Philadelphia gun violence prevention community leader Zarinah Lomax to produce this report on taking the same approach to gun violence that has eliminated diseases and reduced smoking deaths and car crashes.
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
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.
So far this year, our team has visited either virtually or in person with The Stoneleigh Foundation, Report for America, the Law & Justice Journalism Project, NBC Philadelphia, WURD Radio, The Trace, the New York Amsterdam News, Temple University, Ohio State University, Swarthmore College and the University of Colorado.
Events coming up on our calendar include visits with WDAS and Power 99 Radio in Philadelphia, UCSF/UC Berkeley, the American Psychiatric Association, the International Communications Association and The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
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We recently had the opportunity to present our work to the Firearm Injury Prevention Institute at the University of Colorado.
Clockwise from top left, above: Maxayn Gooden, Hanae Mason, Yvonne Latty, Oronde McClain.
Two of our staffers and two critical partners participated in a session on preventing harmful gun violence reporting on Saturday, January 28 at the Klein Camp news innovation unconference at Temple University.
Our Credible Messenger Community Manager Maxayn Gooden and Credible Messenger Newsroom Liaison Oronde McClain took part, along with Hanae Mason, who led the “Thriving” storytelling initiative at Technically Philly.
The session was moderated by Yvonne Latty, Temple Journalism Professor and director of the Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting.
Because researchers are required to protect the anonymity of study participants, we are sharing quotes from our recent study — word for word — in dramatic readings by other Philadelphians affected by gun violence. This video was produced by Philadelphia filmmaker Shameka Sawyer and young people who have also been personally impacted by gun violence, working for the “Bout Mine I Matter” program at her 5 Shorts Project.
Our director of research Dr. Jessica Beard discussed our recent study on a panel with the staff of The Trace during a virtual conference on “Addressing gun violence in Black and Brown communities through journalistic solutions,” organized by the New York Amsterdam News, NYC’s oldest Black newspaper. AGENDA | VIDEO
Our team participated in “Changing the Narrative on Gun Violence: The Role of Media,” a new webinar from the Stoneleigh Foundation, where they are now also seeking are seeking applications from organizations interested in hosting an Emerging Leader Fellowship focused on addressing gun violence. WATCH THE VIDEO |MORE INFO
As we begin the new year, it’s appropriate to pause and reflect on all that has been accomplished in 2022. Our work won’t be finished soon but we are proud of victories at The Center and those in the larger ecosystem. READ MORE
This campaign will profile those working with The Center to advance empathic, ethical, and impactful journalism through research, improved journalistic practices, credible messenger reporting, and solutions-oriented convenings about Philadelphia’s gun violence crisis . Please consider making a gift today.
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
Our director of research Dr. Jessica Beard discussed our work on Trauma Code at WBAI in New York.
We weld our first-ever Credible Messenger Film Festival last summer, screened every short documentary we have supported to date, and followed each screening with a panel discussion including some of the community journalists, producers and professional partners behind each production as well as some of the people who appeared. READ MORE
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
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
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
