Symposium: Responsible Reporting of Gun Violence

Center for Bioethics & Health Law
"Responsible Reporting of Gun Violence"

Considered a public health problem, gun violence is a threat to every dimension of health: it undermines physical, mental, and social well-being. Concern for the health and well-being of individuals and communities demands drawing attention to the causes and magnitude of this health risk. Yet media attention exacerbates some risks to physical and mental health.

While homicide in many communities is a relatively neglected sociocultural phenomenon and health risk, mass shooting events capture public attention through 24-hour news cycles and social media platforms. Coverage of these events often leads to an implication that there can be only two explanations: extremism or illness. Media coverage frequently fuels the stigma of mental illness and false perceptions that people with mental illness are dangerous. Coverage also leads to copycat violence, clustering of violent events and tactical mimicry by people considering such attacks.

This symposium will bring together experts in mental health, violence prevention and public health, law and law enforcement, and media studies.

Presenters: 

• Mark Follman, National Affairs Editor, Mother Jones
• Adam Lankford, Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice, The University of Alabama 
• Kelly McBride, Vice President, The Poynter Institute
• Emma Beth McGinty, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 
• Edward P. Mulvey, PhD Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh
• Russell Palarea, Founder and President of Operational Psychology Services, LLC
• John “Jack” Rozel, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh

For questions and to RSVP email Beth Ann Pischke at pischke@pitt.edu.