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Behind the Gun

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter John Diedrich investigated the full extent of firearm deaths in Wisconsin and the efforts put in place to prevent them.

Marquette students Alexandra Rivera Grant and Ben Schultz collaborated with Diedrich on the series. Their extensive data work on this series was awarded Marquette's James Scotton Award for Excellent in Data-Driven Journalism. Rivera Grant and Schultz also led an in-depth, intimate conversation with community members who shared their experiences with gun violence and safety.

The series was awarded a first-place National Headliner Award. It conducted a first-of-its-kind effort to obtain gun death data from every county, talked to dozens of gun owners about their experiences with firearms, and conducted the most in-depth survey of gun owners in Wisconsin.

"Behind the Gun" was named the best Collaborative Journalism project by the Society of Professional Journalists SDX Awards. This is the second time in three years that an O'Brien project has won this national award.

Diedrich convened a public forum in May 2024 in Wausau, WI to hold a deep, solutions-oriented discussion of the issues. (See video below).

The first installment of the series was published in August 2023. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story features a Wisconsin gun store owner and the statewide efforts to address suicide rates. Last year, gun suicides topped 500 in Wisconsin, which is in line with record numbers across the country.

The second installment, which consists of eight stories, was published in October 2023. One story addressed the complexities of the firearms deaths in Wisconsin. When reviewing the state data of gunshot deaths, Diedrich found suicide to be a "missing piece." The analysis also revealed the epicenter of these deaths is in Wisconsin's rural counties and the rates have grown the fastest in the state's suburban counties.

In another story, Diedrich revealed the difficulities of collecting gun death data in Wisconsin's smaller counties because the data is never released. To close the gap, the team collected and analyzed data extracted from records provided by every county in the state but one - a first-of-its-kind effort.

The second installment also included stories in which community members shared personal experiences with suicide and how it led them to help others.

The third part in the series reported on survey findings of gun owners and explored why people carry or purchase guns.

Here are the full credits for "Behind the Gun":

Contributing reporter: Natalie Eilbert, Alex Rivera Grant, Ben Schultz

Data analysis, graphics: Andrew Hahn, Daphne Chen, Kevin Crowe, Eva Wen

Photos, video: Mike De Sisti, Bill Schulz

Story editing: Greg Borowski

Photo editing: Sherman Williams, Berford Gammon

Copy editing: Ray Hollnagel, Pete Sullivan

Design: Kyle Slagle

Social media: Ridah Syed

Works published to date: