Professional Journey

I recently relocated to Cork, Ireland, after leading the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting since 2020. I launched the organization, originally known as the Initiative for Better Gun Violence Reporting, during a residential fellowship at the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri in 2019.

That work is reflected in our 5 Years of Impact report, in my leadership of our What Now national conference, and through my co-authorship of five studies published by our Multidisciplinary Research Collaborative. I also helped launch the Association of Gun Violence Reporters, the Survivor Connection, The Second Trauma documentary, and our Better Gun Violence Reporting Toolkit.

Previously, I served as Journalist in Residence at Swarthmore College, a Fellow with the Philadelphia Social Innovations Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Practitioner in Residence at the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University. I was also an Ochberg Fellow with the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma (formerly the Dart Center at Columbia University) and the Knight Fellow in Medicine and Health Sciences Journalism with the Knight-Wallace Fellows at the University of Michigan.

I’ve held faculty appointments at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Swarthmore College, New York University’s Carter Journalism Institute, and Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University. I’ve designed and taught courses in peace journalism, solutions journalism, and trauma journalism.

My administrative roles have included Assistant Director of the Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting at Temple University; Program Manager for the Center for Public Interest Journalism at Temple; and Manager for Media and Social Responsibility at Swarthmore’s Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility.

Earlier in my career, I spent 17 years as a photojournalist at the Philadelphia Daily News, where my work received a National Headliner Award among other honors. I later reported from Baghdad for The Associated Press during the Iraq War; that coverage was honored with a Pulitzer Prize awarded to my team, and I was recognized individually with the Bayeux Prize for War Correspondents.

I have earned certifications in hostile environment reporting, threat assessment and human subject research. I created and managed a certification program in gun violence prevention reporting.

I also helped produce “Stop and Frisk: Revisit or Resist,” a podcast recognized with a national Murrow Award; produced “War News Radio” at Swarthmore, a weekly news program then carried on hundreds of public radio stations nationwide; managed stops on the national tour for “The Second Trauma”; and produced dozens of online video reports during my final year at the Daily News.

Hometown honors have included Philly News Awards from the Pen & Pencil Club, the city’s press association; a Firefighters’ Media Award from their union; a Philly Geek Award from the local tech community; the Partners in Peace Award from the Mothers in Charge violence-prevention organization; and a Best of Philly award and Most Influential Philadelphians recognition from Philadelphia Magazine.

I served on the executive boards of Mothers in Charge and the Pen & Pencil Club, and on numerous advisory boards, including the Department of Journalism at Temple University, Generocity, and Gun Violence in Missouri: Seeking Solutions. I also held volunteer roles with the Online News Association and the National Press Photographers Association.

Research

• Examining disparities in harmful reporting on community firearm violence in Philadelphia television news reports, 2026 ∞
• Comparison of community firearm violence news reports across four local television stations in Philadelphia, PA, USA: A quantitative media content analysis, 2025 ∞
• Defining harmful news reporting on community firearm violence: A modified Delphi consensus study, 2024 ∞
• Systematic disparities in reporting on community firearm violence on local television news in Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2024 ∞
• Public health framing of firearm violence on local television news in Philadelphia, PA, USA: a quantitative content analysis, 2024 ∞
• Changed Frames: A Content Analysis of Public Health Reporting on Local Philadelphia TV News Reporting, 2023 ∞
• “Like I’m a nobody:” firearm-injured peoples’ perspectives on news media reporting about firearm violence, 2023 ∞
• Making the news: Victim characteristics associated with media reporting on firearm injury, 2020 ∞

© 2026 Jim MacMillan
Photograph by Kriston Jae Bethel

Photojournalism

Never Forgetting

The Philadelphia Inquirer published several of my photographs from Ground Zero, along with my essay on living with the trauma, on September 6, 2026, as the 25th anniversary of the attack approached. ∞

Acquisition

One of my photographs from Ground Zero has been acquired by several prominent institutions, including the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. ∞

Exhibition

My photographic coverage of nonviolent protests in Philadelphia since the 1990s were exhibited during 2024 at Temple University’s Charles Library, where my print archives are now housed in the Special Collections Research Center. ∞

Recognition

My photographs from the Iraq War were included in the Associated Press portfolio honored with the Pulitzer Prize in 2005. My work was recognized individually with the Bayeux Prize for War Correspondents. ∞

More Photographs

Selected Affiliations

Faculty Appointments, Fellowships, and Residencies
• New York University
• Swarthmore College
• Temple University
• Tufts University
• University of Michigan
• University of Missouri
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Washington

Staff Positions
• The Associated Press: Boston and Baghdad
• Philadelphia Daily News

Contact

Bluesky: @jimmacmillan.com
LinkedIn: /jimmacmillan