Reporting on Children and Gun Violence

From first-graders in rural South Carolina to high schoolers in Las Vegas, The Washington Post’s John Woodrow Cox paints searing portraits of the impact of gun violence through the eyes of the survivors themselves. His work has racked up a slew of honors, including the top prize in this year’s EWA National Awards for Education Reporting.

Cox shares insights into how he structured the series, including the decision to focus on young people experiencing the psychological effects of a shooting incident even when they hadn’t been physically injured by a bullet. What steps does Cox take when interviewing children and families in the wake of tragedy and trauma? How did The Washington Post calculate the first-ever estimates of how many U.S. students have experienced a school shooting since Columbine in 1999? And what advice does he have for education reporters covering issues related to gun violence in their own communities?