The Reload is an independent, subscriber-supported publication founded by award-winning journalist Stephen Gutowski. It is dedicated to accurately reporting the details and nuances of big gun stories. It sheds light on under-reported aspects of gun ownership in America. It informs instead of misleads or enrages.
It focuses on sober, serious reporting on–as well as analysis of–firearms policy and politics to accomplish those goals. No hot takes. No screaming. No manipulating. Just reporting.
The Reload aims to be the best place to find fair and discerning reporting on firearms and how they intersect with politics. By applying rigorous journalistic standards and speaking to both experts and advocates from all sides of the gun debate, we hope to produce accurate and compelling reporting. We are credentialed by the House of Representatives Press Gallery and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
In order to remain independent, The Reload will not take any kind of payment from anyone looking for favorable coverage or who seeks to otherwise manipulate our reporting. No secret deals for positive stories. No shady arrangements. We will strive to avoid even the appearance of impropriety at all times.
Most of our coverage is and will always remain free in order to fulfill our mission of better informing the public about firearms, how they work, who owns them, and why. But keeping an independent publication afloat does cost a lot of money. The Reload relies on its paid members to make the in-depth coverage and on-the-ground reporting we provide possible.
If you believe in what The Reload is doing and want to help it not just survive but thrive, you should become a paid member. In addition to supporting the site, you’ll get an extra members-only newsletter each week as well as access to exclusive posts, commenting privileges, and special Q&A sessions.
Reload Founder Stephen Gutowski has been writing about guns and politics since he founded his first publication back in 2009. He is a credentialed member of the United States House of Representatives Periodical Press Gallery. In addition to his work with The Reload, he is an analyst for CNN.
Before starting The Reload in 2021, Gutowski spent almost 7 years as a staff writer at The Washington Free Beacon. His work has also been published by The Atlantic, The Dispatch, National Review, Ammoland, and The Washington Examiner Magazine. His reporting has been featured in publications that span the ideological spectrum including CNBC, Fox News, The New York Times, Bearing Arms, The Washington Post, NPR, The Drudge Report, ABC News, and many more.
Stephen Gutowski was the only journalist to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine’s Guns in America edition. You can listen to him explain the motivations for pursuing gun politics and policy as a beat that eventually lead him to found The Reload in the interview with Time Magazine posted below.
In his role as a CNN Contributor, Stephen Gutowski regularly appears on national television to discuss his reporting and give his analysis of the latest gun news. He has also appeared on a wide range of other tv and radio outlets including CNBC, Fox News, NPR, Voice of America, WMAL, and C-SPAN. Additionally, he often gives speeches at conferences and on-campus at schools including Columbia University, The University of Michigan, and Carnegie Mellon University.
Stephen Gutowski has won multiple awards for his reporting over the past several years. His work on the show Range Time With Stephen Gutowski received two Telly Awards alongside offerings from publications like CBS News and The Wall Street Journal. He was named Journalist of the Year by the Second Amendment Foundation in 2016 and most recently received the 2020 Bill of Rights Award from the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Stephen Gutowski is also an avid sport shooter and certified firearms-safety instructor. He has a small collection of firearms and a concealed-carry permit. He enjoys building AR-15s and shooting sporting clays in his spare time.
Paul Crookston is an editor from Tampa, Florida, who now lives in the Washington, D.C., area. Following a fellowship at National Review, he joined the Washington Free Beacon as a media analyst and later became an editor and social media manager at the outlet. He now edits and writes for The Reload part-time after becoming a teacher at a classical Christian school.
Jake Fogleman is a recent graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver where he studied political science and economics. He previously interned with the Second Amendment Policy Center at the Independence Institute, a Denver-based think tank. His writing has also appeared in Complete Colorado.
