The Dart Center has announced the recipients of the 2019 Ochberg Fellowship, a program that deepens journalists' reporting of violence, conflict and tragedy. This year’s Fellows include outstanding senior and mid-career journalists in all media, representing six continents.
This collection of tip sheets, written by journalist Susan McKay, is part of a Queen’s University Belfast project exploring the intersection between victims and ‘dealing with the past’ in Northern Ireland, in particular through examining the themes of voice, agency, and blame.
It includes guidelines on 1) interviewing victims and survivors of conflict; 2) representing and engaging with victims and survivors for journalists, editors and educators; 3) speaking to journalists and the media.
This year's Dart Awards went to Michigan Radio for two episodes of "Believed" and to NOLA.com | The Times Picayune for "The Children of Central City." Honorable mentions went to Radio Canada International – Eye on the Arctic and to The Star Tribune. Please join us on May 1 for the Awards ceremony and winners' roundtable.
This deeply reported multimedia project explores the failure of Minnesota’s policing and courts to serve rape and sexual assault victims. Judges called “Denied Justice” an “exceedingly thorough investigative reporting triumph" that makes an "enormous contribution to public service." They commended the series' "incredible depth" that touched everything from "decisions around anonymity to the scope of interviews, from expert sourcing to the wide range of angles explored." Originally published by the Star Tribune between July and December, 2018.
This comprehensive series offers a ground-level view of the effects of violence on children and their families, showing not only the psychological toll on young souls, but also the success stories, and scarce resources that are available to help. Judges described this package as a "brilliant body of work" comprised of a "thoughtful mix of beautifully executed stories." They recognized the "tremendous thought and planning" that went into the project, and the "incredible level of trust" the reporters built with the community after initially encountering much skepticism. Originally published by NOLA.com | The Times Picayune in June 2018.
This year's Dart Awards went to Michigan Radio for "Believed" and to The Times Picayune | NOLA.com for "The Children of Central City." Honorable mentions went to Radio Canada International – Eye on the Arctic and to The Star Tribune.
The following nine pieces were finalists: The Atavist, “Trigger Effect”; Frontline Podcast, “The Weight of Dust”; Guardian US and The Eagle Eye, “Parkland School Shooting”; HBO, “We are Not Done Yet”; WNYC / New York Public Radio, “Caught” Episode 8 "I Want Someone to Love me Even for a Second"; New York Times The Daily, “Lost in the Storm”; Tampa Bay Times, “Gang Raped at 17. Therapy at 65”; Texas Tribune, “Families Divided”; Univision, “Nightmares of Selective Amnesia”
This multimedia piece explores the violent death of Robert Adams, a 19-year old Inuit man in Arctic Canada, the impact of his death on his community, and his father’s subsequent fight for mental health services, coroner’s services, and justice system services for Inuit in the North. Judges described “Death in the Arctic” as a "truly impressive reporting feat" offering "rare insight into an isolated, chronically ignored community." They underscored the "intimacy" and "narrative force" of the project, calling it "profoundly moving and affecting," and the photography "stunning." Originally published by Radio Canada International – Eye on the Arctic on December 14, 2018.
Get consent. Be transparent. Rethink your definition of “family.” Be flexible. Give children agency. Be precise and avoid cliché’s. Ask sensitive questions. Beware of simplistic binaries. Find the paper trail.
These two episodes of the ambitious podcast "Believed" – “The Parents” and “What Have You Done?” – focus on Larry Nassar’s victims and their families, exploring the complicated, conflicted emotions that can persist when people are victimized by a seemingly known and trusted person. Judges recognized the "enormous trust" the reporters built with everyone they interviewed, allowing the survivors and parents to “reveal their deepest regrets and vulnerabilities,” and calling the end result "intimate," "revelatory," and "profound." Originally published by Michigan Radio in January 2018.
After facilitating one of the largest gatherings of Indigenous journalists last year, Dart Centre Asia Pacific will create an ongoing scholarship for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island journalist to attend the prestigious Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Summer Investigative Reporting Course in New York City.