Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

If you haven't heard of GlobalPost--an ambitious new international news start-up-- read this Columbia Journalism Review profile now. Whether or not their innovative business and editorial model is the Future of Journalism, it's cheering to read on their founding editor Charles M. Sennott's blog that they will be distributing the Dart Center's guide to covering violence--Tragedies and Journalists--to all their correspondents.

We emailed Sennott to ask how he became involved with the Dart Center and how else his organization planned to help his semi-freelance reporters cover traumatic events.

DartBlog: How did you first hear about the Dart Center and what made you get involved?

Charles M. Sennott: I first heard about Dart at The Frontline Club in London, where I was a founding member. As you know, Frontline became a hub for correspondents traveling in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan . I think there was a time when many of us were aware that we'd been through some experiences that stay with you ... And I struck up a conversation with several folks from Dart and really enjoyed the conversation and then checked them out on the web. No bullshit. Very practical, solid information. I really like the whole approach of the Dart Center.

DB: Besides distributing Tragedies and Journalists, what kind of preparation and support [do] you provide for GlobalPost reporters covering traumatic events? How do you think this will differ from what reporters experience at a traditional news organization like the [Boston] Globe[, where you were a longtime foreign correspondent and bureau chief]?

CMS: As you saw in the posting on my blog, we have written our own Field Guide and tried to reference all of the best work on being prepared for working in conflict zones, including Dart's Tragedies and Journalists. That said, we are trying very hard not to send people into cover conflict who are not very seasoned in that kind of work. We plan to hold some conferences on international reporting in the future where perhaps we could make trauma and dealing with it a part of the event. But right now we are just trying to get our feet on the ground as a new news organization. We have a lot to learn and I plan to be very vigilant about the issues of trauma and reporting and beyond that don't know what more I can do. I would welcome a conversation if you had some ideas.