Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma

Entries for the 2023 Dart Awards contest are closed. The entry deadline was February 9, 2023 at 5:00 pm EST.
Entry guidelines. 

Since 1994, the Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma have recognized exemplary journalism on the impact of violence, crime and other traumatic events on individuals, families and communities. Spotlighting the experiences of victims and survivors, Dart Award winners make significant contributions to public understanding of trauma-related issues. Past winners include some of the world’s best-known news organizations as well as small community outlets.

The Dart Awards are open to newspaper, magazine, online, radio, television, video and multimedia journalism from North America that goes beyond the ordinary in reporting on trauma. Two $5,000 cash prizes are awarded each year. 

2022 First Round Judges: Lisa Armstrong, journalist and Associate Dean, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism; Melissa Bailey, freelance journalist; Lisa Cohen, filmmaker, TV producer and Director of Prizes, duPont Awards; Renee Feltz, producer, Democracy Now; Adriana Gallardo, engagement reporter, ProPublica; Kyle Hopkins, special projects editor, Anchorage Daily News; Susan Kaplan, broadcast journalist Lisa Krantz, staff photographer, San Antonio Express News;
 Meg Martin, editor and audio producer; Judith Matloff, journalist and author; Naseem Miller, senior health editor, Harvard Kennedy School’s Journalist Resource; Ben Montgomery, enterprise reporter, Tampa Bay Times; Peter Nickeas, senior writer, policing, CNN; Maya Rao, race and immigration reporter, Star Tribune; Sky Dylan Robbins, producer, journalist, and executive director, The Video Consortium; Maryam Saleh, investigative editor, Reveal;
 Andrea Simakis, journalist; Brandon Stahl, investigative reporter, KARE-TV Minneapolis and 2019 Dart Award honorable mention; Saidu Tejan Thomas Jr, host, Resistance podcast; Raghuram Vadarevu, digital storytelling editor for global investigations, Associated Press.

2022 Final JudgesLaila Al-Arian, executive producer, Fault Lines, Al Jazeera English; Samantha Broun, audio journalist and 2017 Dart Award winner; Jessica Bruder, journalist and author; Rachel Dissell, journalist, 2008 and 2020 Dart Award winner; Brian Palmer, multimedia journalist; Marit Sijbrandij, PhD, Clinical Psychology Professor, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Incoming President-Elect, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Read more about the 2022 Final Judging Committee here

Past judges include: Ana Arana, Director, Fundacion MEPI and 2013 Dart Award winner; John Barth, Managing Director, Public Radio Exchange (PRX); David Boardman, Dean, Temple University School of Media and Communication; Jelani Cobb, Staff Writer, The New Yorker; Lori Grinker, Documentary Photographer; Kenny Irby, Senior Faculty, The Poynter Institute; Susan Meiselas, photographer, Magnum Photo Agency; Miranda Olff Ph.D., Professor, AMC/University of Amsterdam and past president, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS); Sacha Pfeiffer, Investigative Reporter, The Boston Globe; Glenn Smith, Projects Editor, The Post and Courier and 2015 Dart Award winner; Sarah Stillman, Staff Writer, The New Yorker; and Alisa Solomon, Professor, Columbia Journalism School; Ginger Thompson, chief of correspondents, ProPublica.

Past Award Winners

Past Honorable Mentions

More from the Dart Awards

  • 2023 Dart Award Finalists Announced

    "This year’s Dart Award finalists showcase journalists contending in fresh and powerful ways with the hardest questions about the impact of violence," said Dart Center Executive Director Bruce Shapiro. "From excavations of long-past exploitation to searing inquiries into all-too-present gun violence  supported alike by under resourced, embattled local newsrooms and the largest national media  this year’s finalists take reporting in new directions in sourcing, interviewing and data analysis, all in service of a shared commitment to innovative, ethical reporting on survivors of violence."

  • 2023 Dart Awards

    The Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma honor innovative, ethical and effective reporting of violence, trauma and tragedy across all media platforms. Judges will make two awards, each carrying a cash prize. The submission deadline has been extended. Entries must be received by February 9, 2023 at 5:00 pm EST.

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