The Dart Center

The Dart Center Mission

The Dart Center advocates ethical and thorough reporting of trauma; compassionate, professional treatment of victims and survivors by journalists; and greater awareness by media organizations of the impact of trauma coverage on both news professionals and news consumers. It educates journalists and journalism students about the science and psychology of trauma and the implications for news coverage. It provides a professional forum for journalists in all media to analyze issues, share knowledge and ideas, and advance strategies related to the craft of reporting on violence and tragedy. And it creates and sustains interdisciplinary collaboration and communication among news professionals, clinicians, academic researchers and others concerned with violence, conflict and tragedy.

History

The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma mission began in 1991 when Frank Ochberg M.D., an American psychiatrist and pioneer in the treatment of traumatic stress, collaborated with journalism faculty at Michigan State University to establish a program to assist journalism students in reporting on victims of violence with sensitivity, dignity and respect. That program was funded by the Dart Foundation of Mason, Michigan.

As more journalists and educators began exploring the intersection of news reporting and violence, the Dart Foundation supported additional programs on victims and the media by journalism faculty in Oklahoma, Indiana, and the University of Washington, where it established the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma in 1999. Journalist Bruce Shapiro, part of the Dart Center’s founding leadership team, became the first full-time executive director of Dart in the USA in 2006. In 2009, the Dart Center accepted an invitation from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism to relocate there.

The Dart Center also expanded internationally. In 2003 Dart Centre Europe launched with founder and journalist, Mark Brayne. Dart Centre Asia Pacific commenced in 2004 with founding managing director and psychologist, Dr. Cait McMahon, who in 1993 undertook one of the earliest studies into journalists and trauma through Latrobe University.

The Dart Center is responsible for a broad portfolio of projects supporting the field of trauma reporting, including journalist fellowships, training and support programs for reporters and news media managers, press freedom advocacy, and the annual Dart Awards for excellence in Coverage of Trauma.

From the beginning the Dart Center has led research on the psychological impact of reporting traumatic events. Between 1999 and 2002, trauma psychologist Elana Newman and colleagues conducted the first peer-reviewed study published on the occupational mental health of reporters and photographers in U.S. newsrooms. In 2004 the Dart Center established an ongoing research node directed by Dr. Newman at the University of Tulsa Department of Psychology, involving senior scholars and graduate researchers in ongoing investigations of the impact of threat, harassment, and other trauma on the mental health of journalists.