A host of resources that can help journalists and newsrooms as they take steps to prepare for civil unrest or volatility.
(This resource was originally published on January 19 2021, following the attack on the U.S. Capitol, when more than 25,000 National Guard were deployed ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20th.)
The Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma in Europe (DCE) has been engaged over the past two years in a project to produce best practice guidelines for journalists covering conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). It is now seeking to fill a seven-month contract to deepen the outreach of this new resource so that journalists and filmmakers around the world have the opportunity to build the principles in these guidelines into their working practice.
Trauma expert Dr. Cait McMahon, OAM, will retire from her role as Dart Centre Asia Pacific Managing Director later this year, following a 30-year career helping media workers better understand the impact of trauma on themselves and on those they report on.
In the last months, the remains of over a thousand people, including at least hundreds of Indigenous children, have been discovered on the properties of former residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. These discoveries have brought to the fore — for now — a subject that has long remained at the margins of mainstream media coverage in the United States: the genocide of millions of Indigenous people by colonizers.
This Dart Center style guide is designed as a quick, authoritative reference for reporters, editors and producers working on tight deadlines. It includes brief evidence-informed guidance on news choices, language usage and ethics in reporting on the impact of trauma on individuals, families and communities; recommendations for appropriate use of relevant psychological and scientific terminology; and special considerations when reporting on consequential trauma-laden issues such as racism and sexual violence.
Dr. Elana Newman, The Dart Center's Research Director, and Naseem S. Miller, Senior Health Editor for The Journalist’s Resource, assembled a list of resources for coping with trauma as part of the Investigative Reporters and Editors Conference in June 2021.
To aid journalists challenged by covering violence, crisis and tragedy, the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma is launching an innovative training program preparing psychologists to work effectively with news professionals.
Dart Centre Europe has released new guidelines on covering sexual violence in conflict zones, designed for deeper learning, quick reference and easy sharing with colleagues. The guidelines aim to encourage accurate and insightful reporting, while also reducing the risk of further harm to those brave enough to tell their stories. You can access the guidelines here.
From the Tigray War in Ethiopia to on-going asymmetric war in Colombia, sexual violence is a reality of conflict around the world. Reporting on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) is fraught with ethical issues and the potential for psychological harm to both source and reporter. The Dart Centre is releasing a new resource to deepen journalists’ understanding of CRSV and to help them report on this complex issue ethically and effectively.
Judges called the coverage of the killing of George Floyd and its aftermath "outstanding" and applauded the team for “helping readers understand that trauma doesn’t end easily or soon, but when addressed properly, it can become a catalyst for major change.” They described the long-form narrative, “George Floyd’s Search for Salvation” as “gripping” and “powerful” “where a symbol and a martyr became a man,” and called it “the definitive George Floyd story.” Originally published by The Star Tribune between May and December, 2020.