2009 Dart Award Winners Announced

The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma is pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma: The Honolulu Advertiser, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland and Public Radio International's "The World."

The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, a project of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, is pleased to announce the winners of the 2009 Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma.  In the newspaper category, the winners are the Honolulu Advertiser and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and in the radio category the winner is “The World,” produced by Public Radio International.

The Honolulu Advertiser won for its exceptional piece, “Crossing the Line: Abuse in Hawai’I Home,” by Rob Perez and Kevin Dayton, with photographer Jeff Widener and layout designer Russell McCrory.  This seven-part series tells the stories of native Hawai’ian women whose lives were forever changed by domestic violence.  It charts the failures of law-enforcement, gaps in the safety net for victims, and the far-reaching consequences to victims, their families and the broader community. Through "Daysha's Diary," the intimate diary of Daysha Aiona-Aka, a 21-year old mother who was murdered at the hands of her estranged boyfriend, the series offers a rare glimpse of the dynamics of abuse, as that abuse unfolds.

Judges singled out "Crossing the Line: Abuse in Hawai’i Homes" for its extraordinarily compelling and exhaustive look at the issue of domestic violence. They praised Perez and Dayton for their ability to transcend cultural and language barriers, and commended Widener for his profound visual storytelling acuity. Judges also hailed the Honolulu Advertiser for its significant allocation of resources and unwavering commitment to this issue.

The Plain Dealer of Cleveland received a Dart Award for the second consecutive year for “Beyond Rape: A Survivor’s Journey,” by Joanna Connors, with photographer Lisa DeJong. This brave and brutally honest first-person inquiry tells the story of the author’s rape in 1984 and its aftermath. “Beyond Rape” delves into Connor’s past by examining the incident itself, the difficult trial and the subsequent years of coping and denial. It then charts Connors’s spiritual and reportorial search to find the man who committed this crime against her.
 
Judges described “Beyond Rape: A Survivor’s Journey” as bold, groundbreaking, and courageous. They called it a remarkable piece of journalism with language that soared.  They commended Connors’ ability to turn her reportorial skills on her own sexual assault, and called this special report a major contribution to public understanding of trauma.

Public Radio International’s “The World” received the Dart Award for "Rape as a Weapon of War," reported by Jeb Sharp and edited by Jennifer Goren. A startling five-part investigative series, the piece examines the brutality of sexual violence in conflict zones and the medical, humanitarian, legal, and political response to it.

Judges called "Rape as a Weapon of War" a powerful, compelling portrayal of human beings who have been violated in the most horrifying ways. They praised Sharp for her clear, focused storytelling and ability to convey the traumatic environments that lead to such dehumanizing acts.  They also commended her for the great respect and compassion used in reporting, and for giving the survivors a sense of agency and power by telling of their stories.