Advance Local launches innovative public service journalism project on guns in America

NEW YORK, March 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A coalition of American newsrooms are working to overcome the anger and divisiveness driving the national debate over guns and gun violence by convening 150 people across the political and cultural divide in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

"Guns, an American Conversation," is a new kind of public service journalism project that will bring together Americans of diverse perspectives and experiences in a closed, month-long moderated Facebook group to discuss guns and other related social issues.

The project, led by Advance Local in partnership with the journalism organization Spaceship Media, will launch with a small, in-person workshop for 20 participants in Washington D.C.March 24 and 25 in advance of the April online convening. The focus of the in-person workshop will be on getting to know one another, listening to one another and learning from one another, and exploring how can we have productive, thoughtful conversations about a topic that matters deeply to all of us. The workshop will take place the same weekend of the planned March 24 marches for and against greater gun control, but will not be connected or involved with them.

For both the in-person and online conversations the project team is seeking a wide range of people, and a wide variety of viewpoints: teenagers, adults, conservatives and liberals, people affected by gun violence and people who use guns.

Advance Local, one of the largest media groups in the United States, operates the leading news and information companies in more than 25 cities, reaching 50+ million people monthly with our quality, real-time journalism and community engagement. 

Spaceship Media brings to this project a unique approach they call Dialogue Journalism – convening people on opposite sides of difficult social and political issues into sustained, moderated, journalism-supported conversations.  

"We hear every day from Americans with diverse perspectives on this vitally important topic," said Michelle Holmes, vice president of content for Alabama Media Group and leader of the initiative for Advance Local. "We believe there's a pressing need to join together for more constructive dialogue across divides. This project sets out to do just that with people from all walks of life."

"Guns, an American Conversation," is accepting applications for both the in-person and online gatherings though midnight EST on Saturday, March 10, via this brief questionnaire.

Advance Local will cover costs for travel and accommodation in D.C. Selected participants will need to commit to full-day and evening attendance on Saturday, March 24, and daytime attendance on Sunday, March 25. The event will be led by trained facilitators who are experienced listeners and skilled at bringing together people across conflicting points of view.

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SOURCE Advance Local