Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

What 'Precious' Means for Clinicians

By Tanya Paperny

The 82nd annual Academy Awards are coming up on March 7, and one of the films in the running, nominated for six Oscars, is "Precious."  It's the story of a 16-year-old African-American girl living in Harlem who suffers physical, sexual and emotional abuse and is pregnant by her own father. It's the first film directed by an African-American to ever be nominated for best picture. It's also the first film in a long time to bring the issue of child sexual abuse to the forefront of the Academy Awards ceremony and the American imagination. More »

Drama Explores Wounds of War

By Geoff Buteau

Laura Linney and Brian d'Arcy James's portrayal of a wounded journalist couple in the play "Time Stands Still" sparks a discussion of war reporting's lasting effects.

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 »

When Veterans Come Home

By Stan Alcorn

A soldier can leave the battlefield, but coming home doesn't mean the war is over. Men and women in the military are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan only to face a new set of struggles, as they carry physical and psychological wounds into a society that doesn't fully understand their experience or their sacrifice. To help them through the challenges of reintegration, the public needs to hear their stories, told with effective, ethical and sensitive reporting. More »

Tips for Staying Sane

By Stan Alcorn

"It just doesn't go out of the brain." Onscreen, an Australian Broadcasting Corporation editor described watching footage of a beheading in Iraq. At a brown bag lunch at the Columbia Journalism School on Oct. 30, students watched a DVD chronicling journalists' experiences covering traumatic stories, from accidents to terrorism, and then discussed how to manage such occupational stress with two of Australia's leading experts on the subject. More »

Covering Trauma in Latin America

Journalists and trauma experts from throughout the Americas discuss how to meet the special challenges faced in reporting violence and remaining resilient.

The True 'Twitter Revolution'

By Stan Alcorn

Was there a Twitter revolution in Iran? To Iason Athanasiadis, an independent journalist whose detention there sparked a global uproar that culminated in his release, the answer comes quickly: No. More »

Audio: Conflict Journalism and Surviving Kidnap

By Stan Alcorn

Last month in Bonn, Germany, news media, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, politicians, artists, entrepreneurs and scientists from all over the world came together to discuss conflict in a multimedia age. The Dart Center organized panels on "The Trauma Factor: The Missing Ingredient in Conflict Journalism" and "Surviving Kidnap"; You now can download or listen online to the audio. More »

Covering Invisible Populations

By Stan Alcorn

"Why am I doing this? Because I think it's incredibly important for you and for the audience to hear this story." Documentary photographer Mimi Chakarova said this of the risks and challenges entailed by her latest project on Iraqi rape victims. But the same could have been said by either of her fellow panelists as they talked about "Covering Invisible Populations" at the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference on Saturday. More »

Investigative Reporters and Editors Conference Begins

By Stan Alcorn

I just came out of my first session at the 2009 Investigative Reporters and Editors Conference: a discussion of new frontiers and strategies in mapping. For the next few days, I along with many others from the Dart network will be attending panels and talking to some of the world's best investigative reporters, editors, producers and news directors. More »

Global Forum Shows Division on Journalism's Role

By Elana Newman

I have spent the last two days listening to debates and conversations at the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum on this year’s theme: “Conflict Prevention in the Multimedia Age.” The conference has brought together constituencies who don’t often talk to one another — working journalists and NGOs and educators dedicated to developing media in post-conflict regions and emerging democracies. More »

Attend the Global Media Forum, Virtually

By Stan Alcorn

Today is the first day of Deutsche Welle's annual Global Media Forum. The theme is "Conflict Prevention in the Multimedia Age." The location, as usual, is Bonn, Germany. For those of us not in Bonn, there are a few ways to follow along. More »

The Real "Enemy" in Disasters

By Cait McMahon

The newly formed Emergency Media and Public Affairs group in Australia held its annual conference in Melbourne, Australia May 24-26. Network Nine news reporter Brett McLeod, who produced Dart Centre Australasia’s "News Media and Trauma" DVD, and Ochberg Fellow Gary Tippet both represented the Dart Centre at different presentations at the two-day conference. More »

New Safety Code for Australian News Media

By Cait McMahon

A code to protect the safety of media professionals was launched yesterday at the "Reporting Wars: Challenges and Responsibilities" conference in Sydney, Australia. More »

The Craft of Trauma Journalism

Winners of the 2009 Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma discuss journalistic craft and answer questions in a panel discussion at Columbia University.

Video: Designing a Victim's POV

By Stan Alcorn

Editing video from last week's panel with winners of the 2009 Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma, one moment stood out. Dart Center's executive director, Bruce Shapiro, was asking how the panelists selected details to include and to exclude when Russell McCrory, designer for The Honolulu Advertiser, made an insightful comment from the audience. More »

Exploring Threats at Watchdog Conference

By Stan Alcorn

Today is the second day of a conference the Dart Center is co-hosting (along with the Open Society Institute and the Fund for Independence in Journalism) at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism: Enlarging the Spaces for Investigative Journalism: Countering Threats, Supporting Innovations You can watch the panels online at BlogTalkRadio, and read background materials, briefings from the panelists and almost-live blogging coverage of the panels themselves the official conference website. More »

Panel: Where Photojournalism and Treatment Intersect

By Stan Alcorn

"Let's hold hands to show we are united." Though the image above was taken by photojournalist Donna DeCesare, the idea behind it came from this spontaneous thought from one of the image's "protagonists" (a term DeCesare prefers to "subject"). Nancy and her six younger siblings were displaced by three days of torture and killings by paramilitaries that left more than 40 villagers dead in El Salado, Colombia in the year 2000. Though it would be dangerous for them to reveal their faces or full names, through DeCesare's unique collaborative approach, they were able to choose, creatively and expressively, how they would be seen. More »

Dart Center & Frontline Club Look to Support Journalists

A Frontline Club Discussion

London’s new Frontline Club for journalists involved in the reporting of war, trauma and disaster has now formally opened its doors with a powerful discussion organised and sponsored by the Dart Centre on the role of trauma in journalism.