While we track every shooting in Philadelphia, care deeply and empathize with everyone affected, and work hard to prevent future gun violence, we do not report on individual incidents. Mass shootings, large new outbreaks of gun violence and some individual incidents can lead to rampant misreporting while even accurate news coverage can create multiple harms.
We respect journalists, we know it’s hard work and we know everyone has the best of intentions. We share these resources informed by our first five years of community engagement, events and research because we want to help.
- The Better Gun Violence Reporting Toolkit can prevent harmful news coverage and even help journalists advance the understanding of prevention.
- The Second Trauma explains how journalists can avoid doing further harm to those already harmed by gun violence, from the survivor community perspective.
- Trauma, harm reduction and self-care is a page where we gather resources from our friends at the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
And what not to do: 12 harmful practices to avoid when covering gun violence [From the Association of Health Care Journalists, based on our most recent study]
MORE:
Guidance from local journalists and leaders in the Philadelphia gun violence prevention community
Guidance from journalists reporting on gun violence and prevention across the US
Learn about getting certified in gun violence prevention reporting
Related
• How local news can help heal Philly’s gun violence crisis without harming communities [Billy Penn]
• What Journalists Can Do To Report More Effectively — and Compassionately — on Gun Violence [Nieman Reports]
• To understand Philly’s gun violence crisis, in-depth reporting is needed | Opinion [The Philadelphia Inquirer]