Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Good, Bad and Forever Wars

By Julian Rubinstein

Dale Maharidge and Nick Turse, two dogged reporters whose new books unexpectedly carried them deep into the world of trauma and brain injury, participated in a Dart Center conversation that veered from collegial to chilling. 

Bringing it Home: 2013 Dart Awards

On May 1, 2013, the Dart Center celebrated the 2013 Dart Awards winners and honorable mentions and presented a roundtable discussion. The conversation explored the story-behind-the-story, and drilled down on what's involved in undertaking hard-hitting, humane investigations of trauma and pursuing high-impact collaborations. Dart Foundation Vice President James Lammers and Dart Foundation Program Manager Claudia Deschaine presented the awards.

Good Wars, Bad Wars: A Special Conversation

On Tuesday, the Dart Center hosted a conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dale Maharidge and Ridenhour Prize-winning journalist Nick Turse about their acclaimed new books which revise our understanding of two very different wars. In Bringing Mulligan Home, Columbia Journalism professor Dale Maharidge goes in search of the ghosts that haunted his WWII veteran father. In Kill Everything that Moves, journalist and historian Nick Turse uncovers secret Pentagon records and tracks down survivors and perpetrators, revealing the brutal consequences of America’s military policy in Vietnam.

Sandy Hook and Beyond: Panel Videos

Watch our entire slate of panels from the symposium.

Crisis Reporting in the Age of Social Media

By Anna Codrea-Rado

In the high stakes business of trauma reporting, social media has become a powerful and controversial journalistic tool. We are also only just beginning to understand how to use it. A special report in advance of our symposium on Monday, April 22, in conjunction with the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, at Columbia Journalism School: Sandy Hook and Beyond: Breaking News, Trauma and Aftermath.

Boston Marathon Bombings: Coverage Resources

Chaos descended on Boston Monday as the city's storied Boston Marathon was rocked by two bombs near the finish line. As the facts emerge, journalists can draw on lessons drawn from other large-scale terrorism and disasters. 

Introducing the 2013 Dart Asia Pacific Fellows

Please join us in congratulating the newly selected 2013 Asia Pacific Fellows who will come together May 12-19 in Bangkok, Thailand for a week of seminars, conversations, and briefings by leading experts in the trauma and journalism fields and peer-to-peer discussions on the challenges of covering tragedy and violence.

Announcing the 2013 Ochberg Fellowships

Application guidelines for mid-career journalists who want to deepen their knowledge of emotional trauma and psychological injury, and improve reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy. All application materials must be submitted by October 11, 2013.

Symposium: Sandy Hook and Beyond

Click here to watch all of the symposium panels. Click here to read the Live Blog from the event. Click here for program details.

The daylong symposium: Sandy Hook and Beyond: Breaking News, Trauma and Aftermath took place on Monday at Columbia University. Regional and national journalists were joined by community leaders, mental health experts, policy advocates and Sandy Hook families and shared perspectives, discussed lessons learned and pointed the way towards responsible news coverage going forward. 

"The Story Behind these Hands: Finding Their Way Out"

By Bill Landauer, Jason Plotkin, Samantha Dellinger, Scott Blanchard, and Brad Jennings

Judges described this multimedia feature story in the York Daily Record (PA) as "moving" and "compassionate." It explores the lasting impact of trauma on one community nine years after the 2003 shooting at Red Lion Junior High that left the principal and shooter dead. Originally published in April, 2012. An interactive version of this story can be found here.