Deadline Passed: 2019 Dart Awards

The Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma honor innovative, ethical and effective reporting of human tragedy across all media platforms. Judges will make two awards, each carrying a $5000 cash prize. The submission deadline, January 30, 2019 at 5:00 pm EST, has passed.

Click here for full submission guidelines. The submission deadline, January 30, 2019 at 5:00 pm EST, has passed.

Since 1994, the Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma have honored innovative, ethical and effective reporting on the impact of violence, crime, disaster and other traumatic events, focusing on the experiences of victims and survivors and contributing to public understanding of trauma-related issues.

While the public is far more aware now than in 1994 of violence, trauma and its effects on individuals, families and communities, the Dart Awards further increase that awareness by encouraging media coverage that goes beyond simple narratives about victims' suffering and healing to more nuanced reporting that grapples with the complexity of trauma. The Dart Awards aim to reward and inspire innovative, effective, ethical and in-depth trauma reporting across media boundaries.

The Dart Awards are judged by an interdisciplinary panel of journalists, mental health professionals, and survivor advocates. The Dart Awards are a team prize, recognizing and rewarding news organizations that make the special commitment necessary to produce this extraordinary journalism.

Judges will make two awards; each carrying a $5000 cash prize.

Past winners share a commitment to telling a powerful story, offering respect and compassion to survivors, and to remaining sensitive to the complexity of a tragic event. (See all the past Dart Award-winning pieces here.)