Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

New Resources for Covering Veterans

Ten years after the attacks of September 11, reporting on combat veterans remains a special challenge. Earlier this year the Dart Center, with support from the Thomas Scattergood Foundation for Behavioral Health,  sponsored a two-day workshop on covering veterans' issues for local journalists and regional news organizations in the greater Philadelphia area. Now available online: tipsheets and audio of experts and journalists on veterans' issues, navigating the VA and innovative approaches to covering vets at the local and regional level. More »

Women in War and Combat

By Stan Alcorn

More women are in the military than ever before, and they want journalists to get their stories right.

Veterans' Families: The Social Impact of PTSD

By Stan Alcorn

The story of war on the home front isn't complete without understanding its effect on military families.

21st Century War: What Journalists Need to Know

By Stan Alcorn

Researchers, clinicians and a retired Marine talk about how multiple deployments and the threat of grievous physical and psychological injury make it difficult for a veteran to make the journey home; part of Dart's Videos on Veterans series. 

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.

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.

War's Ripple Effects: Research Priorities

By Stan Alcorn

Understanding of the traumatic effects of war has progressed significantly. In this selection from Dart's Videos on Veterans series, leading researchers and clinicians shed light on what needs further investigation.

PTSD and the Hidden Wounds of War

By Stan Alcorn

Everyone has heard of PTSD, but veterans, clinicians and scientists say most people misunderstand not only the disorder, but the other ways that war affects individuals and families.

A Family Deployment

By Ambar Espinoza

Soldiers don't go into a war zone alone: their families share the experience. A Minnesota Public Radio reporter shares her story and explains the reporting behind it.

Why Report on Veterans?

By Stan Alcorn

When veterans come home, they bring their experiences back to their loved ones and communities. Veterans advocate Paul Sullivan and other experts talk about how local news media can best report this national story.

How to Report on Deployment

By Liisa Hyvarinen Temple

Thanks to Skype, mobile phones and email, it's easy to interview soldiers in the field and track families at home. A journalist and military spouse sheds light on how to do it.

Soldiers Return: The Untold Story

By Arlene Notoro Morgan

As soldiers come home from Iraq and Afghanistan, communities are coming to grips with their issues and needs. Here's a list of stories that need telling.

Women at War

By Kayla Williams

Journalists have a lot to learn about the roles women service members play under fire and what they need when they return home.

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 »

Regional Workshop: When Veterans Come Home POSTPONED TO APRIL 1 AND 2

In Philadelphia, a workshop for local and regional journalists on the coverage of veterans' issues, sponsored by the Thomas Scattergood Foundation for Behavioral Health.

Purple Hearts: Back from Iraq

By Nina Berman

Through quiet portraits and moving interviews, wounded Iraq veterans convey the physical and psychological consequences of war.