By Sammy Caiola
In the spirit of professional media organizations such as the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists, four gun violence reporters posted across the U.S. have created the Association of Gun Violence Reporters for purposes of networking, skill sharing and camaraderie.
Sammy Caiola, a former WHYY News gun violence prevention reporter who now covers policing and public safety at Kensington Voice, manages the initiative from Philadelphia. Co-presidents include Kaitlin Washburn, a Chicago Sun-Times reporter and AHCJ beat leader for firearm violence and trauma, Trace senior news writer Jennifer Mascia, and Abené Clayton, a reporter for The Guardian’s Guns and Lies series.
AGVR is a project of the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting, launched in 2020 to help reporters tell more nuanced, solutions-forward, public health focused stories about gun violence in hopes of minimizing harm to survivors. The new organization aims to have a national presence, beginning with chapters in D.C., Chicago and New York.
Covering gun violence can create vicarious trauma for journalists who cover it, especially when reporters are pressured to produce content that is misaligned with their values, or frames the issue as hopeless or inevitable. AGVR aims to provide space for reporters to talk about this emotionally intense content.
The movement for better gun violence reporting is already well underway, with a focus on prevention. AL.com now has a violence prevention reporter, and Amsterdam News has a gun violence reporter on its investigative team. NPR’s Gulf States Newsroom recently hired a senior reporter covering justice, incarceration and gun violence. The Guardian continues to add to its “Guns and Lies” series, launched in 2019.
The Association of Gun Violence Reporters aims to elevate gun violence as a systemic problem and address prevention on the level of health care, education, etc. The founding reporters hope to create a better map of where gun violence journalists are and what they’re covering, and encourage collaboration between gun violence reporters. If you touch this beat, no matter what your position in the newsroom is, please consider joining us.
We’d like to hear from journalists about what AGVR can facilitate that would be beneficial. Some initiatives we’re considering include:
- Member directory
- Job board
- Chapter support and in-person chapter events
- Trainings
- Mentorship
- Opportunities for cross-publication
Please send thoughts and/or voice interest via the form below.