This article is part of RJI Impact, a series documenting how RJI projects are making a real difference for newsrooms and audiences all over the country. It was originally published in the Winter 2026 edition of RJI Insight, RJI’s biannual print magazine. A digital version of the magazine is available here.

In 2019, Jim MacMillan started his Reynolds Journalism Institute fellowship with a hunch: that the common ways journalists reported on gun violence weren’t helping the public understand the crisis and were often causing further harm to gun violence survivors and their communities.

A former photojournalist for outlets including the Associated Press, The Boston Globe, and Philadelphia Daily News, MacMillan also knew many in the news industry were ready to take a new approach.

As an RJI fellow, MacMillan convened the Better Gun Violence Reporting Summit at WHYY Public Media in Philadelphia and launched what would become a leading voice in the field: the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting (PCGVR). The center has been a catalyst in helping reporters and editors adopt trauma-aware, public health-informed reporting practices and build trusted relationships with the communities most affected by gun violence.

From the center’s start, MacMillan has collaborated with trauma surgeon Dr. Jessica Beard to conduct multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed research rooted in lived experience. Their work has investigated how gun violence reporting affects people injured by firearms and how different approaches to coverage can contribute to prevention.

In 2024, the Associated Press added a full chapter on criminal justice reporting to its stylebook, citing PCGVR among the recommended resources.

“I would contend that there is a large, important movement advancing better gun violence reporting that wouldn’t have happened if RJI hadn’t taken a chance on me,” said MacMillan.

And the work continues. The Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting incubated The Association of Gun Violence Reporters, a national organization which launched in 2025.

In October 2025, PCGVR held the Gun Violence Prevention Reporting National Certification Conference, which brought together more than 100 journalists, researchers and experts from the gun violence survivor community. Over 50 attendees took courses that count toward the newly developed Gun Violence Prevention Reporting Certification, signaling the continuing interest in this field.

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Cite this article

RJI Online (2026, March 13). Building better practices for covering gun violence. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Retrieved from: https://rjionline.org/news/building-better-practices-for-covering-gun-violence/