Applications are no longer being accepted for this workshop, but you may apply to Covering Guns, A Poynter Workshop scheduled for July 10-12 in the Washington, D.C., area. Details and an application here.

This workshop has a simple goal: to improve the accuracy and depth of coverage of America’s gun debate, without deference to any political agenda or special interests. Our goal is to help journalists learn more about guns and gun laws through practical, hands-on experience and expert teaching.

Other faculty will include: Roseanna Ander, founding Executive Director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab and the University of Chicago Urban Education Lab, and Harold Pollack, co-director of the Chicago Crime Lab and the Helen Ross Professor of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration, and faculty chair of the Center for Health Administration Studies.

The workshop will include a field trip to a gun range. You will have the opportunity to handle and fire several guns. If you do not want that experience, please take a pass on applying and join us online for some of the teaching we hope to stream live.

Poynter will partner with Loyola University Chicago on this workshop, which will be held on Loyola’s campus at the School of Communication, located at 51 E. Pearson, Chicago, Ill. 60611. (Cross streets are Pearson and Wabash.) All applications must come through Poynter’s website. Click the “Apply Now” button below to complete an application. The workshop will begin at 4:00 p.m. on April 1, and end at 3:00 p.m. on April 3.

This workshop will include:

• Guns 101 ~ Learn gun and ammunition basics such as the difference between an auto and a semi-automatic weapon, and a .357 and a .22 caliber weapon. You’ll learn which guns are the most lethal and why.
• Live Range Experience ~ Visit a gun range and fire a variety of weapons with close supervision from certified instructors.
• Second Amendment Understanding ~ Hear from legal experts how the 2nd Amendment does or does not apply to the current debates about gun control.
• Experienced Reporting ~ Learn from The Washington Post’s investigative reporter David Fallis, one of the journalists who produced the Post’s award-winning project “The Hidden Life of Guns.”
• Permitting and Background Checks ~ Understand how these controls are supposed to work and whether they help reduce gun crime.
• The Gun Supply Line ~ Learn where criminals get their guns and what can be done about it.

Workshop schedule.

Application Materials:
We want to know why you want to attend this workshop and what you intend to do with what you learn. Write an essay and keep it to 300 words. Don’t be clever, be clear.