In this morning’s Weekly Brief: Get to know the new Association of Gun Violence Reporters. https://t.co/p5gOKQ6EkF pic.twitter.com/xLUB3sHGFm

— The Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting (@PCGVR) August 22, 2024

The Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting (PCGVR) is funding a new organization for anti-gun journalists to collaborate and share information.

The organization is called the Association of Gun Violence Reporters (AGVR). It is founded by Kaitlin Washburn of the Chicago Sun-Times, Philadelphia-based independent journalist Sammy Caiola, Jennifer Mascia of the Trace, and Abené Clayton of the Guardian. The project aims to cover guns as a “systemic problem” and shift public perception about firearms.

“Covering gun violence can be overwhelming and isolating,” Caiola said. “It’s a complex topic that touches on policy, social science, trauma, the criminal justice system and a hundred other things. We wanted to give reporters who work on this beat, even just occasionally, a place to ask questions, seek mentorship, and release stress. We’re excited to see who comes to us and how we can lift up their work.”

The program will offer training, resources, collaboration opportunities, and mentorships to journalists reporting on “gun violence.” This program is just one of the programs across the country looking to use media coverage to push for political change on guns by trying to change the minds of Americans.

One of the founders, Jennifer Mascia, is from The Trace, which is an Everytown-linked media organization whose goal is to push the propaganda of anti-gun organizations. The Trace is well-funded, and most of its reporters are from Ivy League schools. The reporting has targeted gun rights groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and recently ran a hit piece on Gun Owners of America’s (GOA) G.O.A.L.S event.

Sammy Caiola is a journalist who used to work for WHYY, a public radio station serving Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. She covered “gun violence” for National Public Radio (NPR). Ms. Caiola has made a career out of attacking the gun world and demonizing the Second Amendment.

Abené Clayton works on The Guardian’s Guns and Lies in America project. The Guardian is a left-leaning UK-based news organization. Its Guns and Lies in America project is the UK-based newspaper’s take on guns in the United States. As one can imagine, the coverage is left-leaning and doesn’t cover topics such as the defensive usage of firearms.

Kaitlin Washburn has made a career of anti-gun reporting. She has written anti-gun articles for multiple papers across the country. Ms. Washburn also hosts webinars for other reporters to teach them how to report on firearms. Her goal is to broaden reporting on “gun violence” and to prove that the “rolling back” of gun laws makes us less safe. She believes that “firearm violence poses one of the greatest threats to the health and well-being of communities across the country.”

The Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting is the organization that is funding the program. A significant monetary contributor to the organization is the City of Philadelphia. This chain of money means that the funds that the City of Philadelphia gives to PCGVR could be redirected to AGVR to train journalists on how to shape the gun narrative in America.

The organization is recruiting reporters through a link to a Google document. They ask any journalist who wants to join to fill out the form. This requirement is mostly to vet those wishing to join the group to ensure they are not pro-liberty journalists.

Right now, the anti-gun side is outspending the pro-freedom side of the equation. More organizations are popping up funded by anti-gun billionaires such as Michael Bloomberg. It will take a Herculean task to push back against the narratives that will be pushed by groups such as the AGVR.

About John Crump

Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.