The Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting

Full house packs in-person premiere of “They Don’t Care About Us”

Above: Last month’s in-person premiere of “They Don’t Care About Us,” which was produced with support from our Credible Messenger Reporting Project, was part of a larger program organized by the Oronde McClain Foundation. Oronde McClain hosted, Maxayn Gooden moderated panel discussions and Maria Mitri, who joined us this summer with support from the Lenfest Next Generation Fund, reports.

In this conversation, our Community Engagement Manager Maxayn Gooden interviews Ernest Owens about participating in our Credible Messenger Reporting Project. Ernest is the Editor-at-Large at Philadelphia Magazine and President of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists. He has been working on this project with gun violence prevention activist Tyrique Glasgow. Maxayn was also a Credible Messenger community journalist in our first cohort last year.

In this extraordinary and intimate new conversation between two mothers who have each lost a son to gun violence, our community engagement manager Maxayn Gooden interviews Kimberly Kamara about her experience participating in our Credible Messenger Reporting Project.

Kimberly produced “Never Ending Emotions,” a short documentary featuring a series of interviews which address the emotional rollercoaster of life-changing events following the murder of a family member and discuss possible solutions to gun violence in Philadelphia. Maxayn was also a Credible Messenger community journalist in our first cohort last year.

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. Thanks also go to the Independence Public Media Foundation, The Stoneleigh Foundation and Kouvenda Media. Listen now:

Our Director of Research Dr. Jessica Beard was interviewed by Anthony Orozco at WITF about her role in “Stronger Every Day: Healing After Gun Violence.”

Now you can also listen to the full 30-minute conversation between Anthony Orozco at WITF and our Director of Research Dr. Jessica Beard about her role in “Stronger Every Day,” but also on what drives her, our current research, some preliminary findings and better news reporting practices.

Oronde McClain recently joined our staff as the Center’s first Credible Messenger Newsroom Liaison but earlier this year he produced the documentary streaming above: “They Don’t Care About Us” or Do They?” – with support from our Credible Messenger Reporting Project. Cherri Gregg of WHYY was the professional partner on the project and last week she interviewed Oronde about their collaboration. Listen now:

Thanks to new and continuing funding from the Independence Public Media Foundation, the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting is now accepting applications for a third cohort in our Credible Messenger Reporting Project. This initiative empowers people impacted by gun violence in Philadelphia 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 news reports. Financial support is available for all participants. More info: Credible Messenger Reporting Project

The Center hosts an interdisciplinary research collaborative that is exploring the intersection of gun violence, impacted communities and the media. More info: Research at the Center

The changing epidemiology of interpersonal firearm violence during the COVID-19 pandemic in Philadelphia, PA

Our Director of Research Dr. Jessica Beard is the corresponding author of a new study reporting that more women and children were shot, especially Black women and children, following the enactment of COVID-19 containment policies.

What does the most ethical, impactful and empathetic reporting look like when covering community gun violence? 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.

The featured speakers and moderators for the conversation included:

Ernest Owens, President, Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists (Moderator)
Denise Clay-Murray, Reporter/Editor, The Philadelphia Sun
Jessica Beard, Trauma Surgeon, Temple University Hospital and Director of Research, Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting
Tyrique Glasgow, Founder, Young Chances Foundation
Mazzie Casher, Director, PHILLY TRUCE, Inc. & Co-Creator, PHILLY TRUCE APP
Dr. Dorothy Johnson-Speight, Founder & National Executive Director, Mothers in Charge
Beatrice Forman, Digital Culture Journalist, Billy Penn (Digital Q&A Moderator)

READ MORE

We are presently planning our first in-person events in some time. Just before the pandemic, we organized the Better Gun Violence Reporting Summit. Please take a look:

Multimedia Agenda | Audio | Experts | Hashtag | Notes | Photos | Press | Recap

In preparation for our inaugural Summit in 2019, we invited 15 Philadelphia journalists who play some role covering gun violence to spend a day with 30 residents from deeply impacted communities.