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. 2024 Mar:180:107892.
doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2024.107892. Epub 2024 Feb 9.

Identifying overlaps and disconnects between media reports and official records of nonfatal firearm injuries in Indianapolis, Indiana, 2021-2022

Lauren A Magee  1 , Damaris Ortiz  2 , Jonathan T Macy  3 , Savannah Tolliver  4 , Jara Alvarez-Del-Pino  5 , Amarpreet Kaur  4 , Erin Spivey  4 , Eric Grommon  4
Affiliations

Identifying overlaps and disconnects between media reports and official records of nonfatal firearm injuries in Indianapolis, Indiana, 2021-2022

Lauren A Magee et al. Prev Med. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: Open-source data systems, largely drawn from media sources, are commonly used by scholars due to the lack of a comprehensive national data system. It is unclear if these data provide an accurate and complete representation of firearm injuries and their context. The study objectives were to compare firearm injuries in official police records with media reports to better identify the characteristics associated with media reporting.

Methods: Firearm injuries were identified in open-source media reports and compared to nonfatal firearm injury (n = 1642) data from official police records between January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Events were matched on date, location, and event circumstances. Four multivariate, multi-level mixed effects logistic regression models were conducted to assess which survivor, event, and community characteristics were associated with media reporting. Data were analyzed 2023 - January 2024.

Results: Media reported 41% of nonfatal shootings in 2021 and 45% in 2022(p < 0.05), which is approximately two out of every five shootings. Shootings involving multiple survivors, children, and self-defense were more likely to be reported, whereas unintentional shootings and shootings that occurred in structurally disadvantaged communities were less likely to be reported.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that relying on media reports of firearm injuries alone may misrepresent the numbers and contexts of shootings. Public health interventions that educate journalists about these important issues may be an impactful firearm violence prevention strategy. Also, it is critical to link data systems at the local level to ensure interventions are designed and evaluated using accurate data.

Keywords: Communities; Data linkage; Firearm injuries; Media; Structural disadvantage.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Weekly nonfatal firearm injuries reported in official records versus media reports, Indianapolis, IN, 2021–2022.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Nonfatal firearm injuries report and unreported by the media, structural disadvantage, Indianapolis, IN, 2021–2022.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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