Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Ghost Town

By Cecilia Ballí

The crossfire of drug-related violence is rendering farming towns along the U.S.-Mexico border virtually uninhabitable. Texas Monthly staff writer Cecilia Balli, a 2010 Dart Center Ochberg Fellow, reports on residents of one border town who live amid escalating terror.

A Reporter's Lessons from Past Shootings

By Dave Cullen

Qualify witnesses carefully. Don't jump to conclusions about a suspect's character or motive. Treat survivors humanely. Excise the word "snapped" from your vocabulary.

Covering Mass Killings

By Frank Ochberg and Bruce Shapiro

Psychiatrist Frank Ochberg, M.D. and Bruce Shapiro, executive director of the Dart Center, share insights on the characteristics of mass killers and the ethical responsibilities of news organizations as they help the public make sense of the shooting rampage in Arizona that left six dead and a U.S. Congresswoman grievously injured.

Arizona Tragedy: Resources for Journalists

As local and national journalists scramble to make sense of a mass shooting that leaves a U.S. Congresswoman grievously wounded and six dead – including a federal judge – resources from the Dart Center's archive offer guidance to reporters in the field and managers in the newsroom. 

Dave Philipps: Investigating Veteran Homicides

By Stan Alcorn

A reporter explains how he went from covering powder skiiing to telling the story of a brigade with a murder rate 20 times the national average – and the even more startling story of what they faced in Iraq.

Homicide on Campus: Student Journalists Reflect

By Sue Lockett John

Sacramento State Hornet student journalists were among the first to arrive at the scene where a California State University, Sacramento, student was beaten to death and his alleged assailant was shot by police. In this video produced by photojournalist Brian Feulner, four editors recall their actions and reactions in covering the tragic event.

Cumbria Shootings: Making Sense of the Senseless

By Gavin Rees

A mass shooting in Britain leads a wounded community to wonder why. The director of Dart Centre Europe  reflects on the story and offers resources for journalists.

Caught in the Crossfire

By Sheila S. Coronel

Newsgatherers have become collateral damage in the blood-drenched politics of the southern Philippines. Dozens of journalists were among 57 reported slain in the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre in Mindanao. 

Myths of Fort Hood

By Bruce Shapiro

Journalists seeking an easy answer in PTSD threaten to obscure the real story of Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan's rampage.

Making Sense of George Tiller

By Eyal Press

Learning from the last time a physician who performs abortions was murdered.