Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Tragedies & Journalists

By Joe Hight and Frank Smyth

A 40-page guide to help journalists, photojournalists and editors report on violence while protecting both victims and themselves.

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Living 9/11

By Marianne McCune, Emily Botein, Karen Frillmann, Chris Bannon, Courtney Stein, Sanda Htyte, Kaari Pitkin, Eric Leinung, Jillian Suarez, Erin Reeg, Norhan Basuni, John Ellis, Fred Mogul, Beth Fertig, Andy Lanset, Paul Schneider, and Jim Briggs III

This radio special uses a mix of archival recordings and interviews with dozens of ordinary people to help listeners understand the emotional impact of the traumatic event, ten years later. Originally broadcast by WNYC and presented by PRX in August, 2011.

Surviving 9/11

By Robert Jay Lifton, M.D. and Charles B. Strozier

This tenth anniversary of the attacks on 9/11, for all its potential to reawaken a painful past, also moves personal loss into collective historical memory. That can be a painful process but also offers a moment for reflection and the creation of new meanings.

Journalists' Memories of September 11

Our friends at the Dart Society have posted a special report collecting journalists’ memories of and reflections on the upcoming September 11 anniversary. The centerpiece is an evocative and unsettling collage of essays and video by New York journalist Jacques Menasche on the impact of the attacks on his young son and other children who were attending school nearby.  More »

Preparing Journalists for Emotions

By Kenna Griffin

A journalism educator tells the personal story of why she works to prepare journalists for the unique challenges of covering traumatic events.

Guest Column: Flight 1549 an Eerie Miracle

Two weeks ago, we blogged about what newspapers were calling a "controlled landing" and TV networks were calling a "plane crash" in the Hudson River. Today, Maria Alvarez, a 2002 Dart Center Ochberg Fellow who covered the 9/11 attacks and aftermath for the New York Post, writes about her experience reporting on Flight 1549, and how it brought back memories of a very different day when a plane appeared in New York City's skies. More »

Covering Tragedy

ABC Radio

2007 Ochberg Fellow Lisa Millar talks about trauma journalism on the National Media Report.

September 11 and Journalists' Health

This is a message from Dart Ochberg Fellow David Handschuh, chair of New York Press Photographer Association's Inter-Governmental Relations Committee. More »

Sept. 11, 5 Years Later

A roundup of Sept. 11 Anniversary stories — from the New York Times, Baltimore Sun, WUSA9-TV, Newsday and the Columbus Dispatch ... More »

Reporter's Notebook: Reliving the Day

By Beth Fertig

The press release arrived in my email one day in early August. It was from the Fire Department of New York, announcing that—in compliance with a lawsuit brought by the New York Times—the department would be releasing the recordings of its dispatch tapes from September 11, 2001.

Unraveling Media and Trauma Connections

Researcher Stresses Importance of Scientific Approach

By Meg Spratt

An interview by Meg Spratt with Betty Pfefferbaum, a research psychiatrist and professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Oklahoma. 

Unraveling Media and Trauma Connections

By Meg Spratt

Betty Pfefferbaum, winner of the first ISTSS Frank Ochberg Award for Research in Trauma and the Media, discusses what journalists can learn from her research.

Lessons from 9/11 Survivors

By Joe Hight

On the weekend observance of three years after the September 11th attack, victims traveled to the Mid-America Press Institute workshop, co-sponsored by the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, to give their impressions on how reporters should interview those effected by violence.

Commemorating Our Troubles

A View from Northern Ireland

By Seamus Kelters

Recently we have covered the fifth anniversary of the worst atrocity of our Troubles. The relatives of the victims, who have formed their own committee, have said it will be the last memorial service formally convened in the town.

Second Anniversaries are Different

As I’ve observed tragedies from near and far, I’ve noticed a stark difference in how the first and second anniversaries are covered.

September 11 Anniversary Reactions

An Interview With Dr. Frank Ochberg

By Frank Ochberg

Because many Americans will be profoundly affected by reminders of the September 11 attacks, Joyce Boaz, Executive Director of Gift From Within asked Frank Ochberg to reflect on anniversary reactions. Coincidentally, Dr. Ochberg was interviewed on that topic by Richard Kaplan, PhD, senior staff editor with Coffey Communications.

Dealing With Disaster

Editor and Publisher

Joe Strupp and Doug Cosper discuss the problems faced by journalists in extreme situations, with emphasis on the challenges faced at the World Trade Center after 9/11.

Report on Ground Zero

By Mike Cane

Elana Newman, Ph.D., a University of Tulsa associate professor of psychology, and Barbara Monseu, a Denver investment consultant who as a school district official had coordinated responses to students, families and staff following the April 1999 Columbine High School shooting, went to New York City for the Dart Center in December 2002. For more than six months they directed Dart Center Ground Zero (DCGZ). Their goal: To link journalists affected by the attacks to emotional, technical and physical support resources.These three articles review the achievements of that project, which was funded by a grant from the Dart Foundation. They are drawn from the project report, written by Monseu and Newman, and from interviews with Newman.

September 11: The Pivotal Moment

By David Handschuh

I can’t say at that point on September 11th at ten-fifteen in the morning I said, ‘Boom, life is different!’

Reporting for Al-Jazeera

By Yosri Fouda

I guess I didn't know what else to do, so I became a journalist. I thought of all the potential choices in front of me and realised journalism was big enough for me to carve my own space, and make the best use of the skills I had.