Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

2011 Dart Awards Honor Outstanding Reporting on Institutions

By Stan Alcorn

There are many forces that suppress stories of trauma, from the active denial of perpetrators to the passive denial of those who prefer to look away.  But when human tragedy is embedded in complex institutions — high school, higher ed, the military — the challenges of reporting and storytelling multiply. More »

How to Interview Veterans

By Stan Alcorn

Journalists interviewing service members returning from war need the standard skills of humility and empathy – but they also need to do their homework. In this video from Dart's Videos on Veterans series, journalists, a clinician and a retired Marine explain how it's done.

Challenging Conventional Wisdom About PTSD

By Stan Alcorn

Conventional wisdom about the psychological impact of war on soldiers turns out to be not very wise at all.  While public awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder has increased dramatically in recent years, in the minds of many it represents everything bad that combat can do to the mind and spirit. And the very term "disorder" implies a permanent condition from which there is little hope for recovery. More »

Investigating Mental Health, Trauma

By Jesse Tarbert

Atlanta — The shielding of records about children in public care has "done more to harm children and protect adults than anything else," said Jane Hansen of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. She spoke on a panel on mental-health issues co-sponsored by the Dart Center at the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in Atlanta.

Workshop: When Soldiers Come Home

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a half-day workshop for Oklahoma-based reporters, editors, producers and news directors aimed at improving coverage of veterans' issues.