The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma was a resource center and think tank for journalists who cover violence, conflict and tragedy around the world. It operated from 1999 to 2009 at the University of Washington and was a project of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City from 2009 to 2025. The Dart Center was sunset by Columbia Journalism School in the summer of 2025. Its mission was adopted by the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma, an independent nonprofit unaffiliated with Columbia.
The Dart Center's mission was to improve the quality of journalism on traumatic events, while also raising awareness in newsrooms of the impact such coverage has on the journalists telling the stories.Davila, Florangela, A Different Take on Trauma, Seattle Times, July 3, 2006 The Dart Center also operated Dart Centre Europe, based in London; Dart Centre Asia Pacific, based in Melbourne; and a research node at the University of Tulsa. The Dart Center established a temporary center through the summer of 2002 in New York City after the attacks of September 11, 2001 directed by Elana Newman and Barbra Monseu.
The Dart Center conducted seminars, training and support programs for journalists covering the attacks of September 11, 2001, Hurricane Katrina, the Boxing Day tsunami, the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Iraq War and the Virginia Tech shootings, among other events.Simpson, Roger, Journalism and Trauma: A Long Overdue Conjunction, Nieman Reports, June 2004;Brayne, Mark, Journalists on the Couch, Guardian Unlimited, August 5, 2002Strupp, Joe and Cosper, Doug, Dealing with Disaster, Editor & Publisher, September 24, 2001.Alvis-Banks, Donna, Sometimes the World Comes to You , Roanoke Times, January 6, 2008 The Dart Center's longtime director was the American journalist Bruce Shapiro.
History and programs The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma was founded at the University of Washington in 1999 to nurture innovation in ethical reporting on victims of violence and tragedy. Among its founders were Roger Simpson, a professor of communication at UW and the center's director until 2006; Shapiro, the center's executive director from 2006 to 2025; Frank Ochberg, a psychiatrist and authority on post traumatic stress disorder, and Elana Newman, a psychologist specializing in traumatic stress. It was named for its principal funder, the Dart Foundation. The Dart Center re-located to Columbia University in the spring of 2009.The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma: History.
Among the Dart Center's programs were the annual Dart Center Awards for Excellence in Reporting on Trauma (given annually since 1994) and the fellowship program,The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma: Fellowships and Fellowships Guidelines called after one of its founders Frank Ochberg which is aimed at mid career journalists who want to deepen their knowledge of emotional trauma and improve coverage of violence, conflict and tragedy, among whom six to ten journalists are selected every year to attend an intensive weeklong seminar program, including discussions with journalist colleagues, and the annual conference of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies: Collaborators As of July 2025, more than 250 journalists had been selected for Dart Center Ochberg Fellowship.The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma: Ochberg Fellows
The Dart Center also encouraged and led research on the psychological impact of reporting traumatic events on journalists, and encouraged the development of training and support programs at leading news organizations around the world.The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma: Fact Sheets Its affiliate Dart Centre in Europe developed programs for the BBC and other news organizations. Dart Centre Asia Pacific worked actively with journalists in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Cambodia and elsewhere in the region, and pioneering newsroom peer support programs.
References
Further reading Danieli, Yael. Sharing the Front Line and the Back Hills: International Protectors and Providers : Peacekeepers, Humanitarian Aid Workers and the Media in the Midst of Crisis. Baywood Publishing Company, 2001. . Feinstein, Anthony. Journalists Under Fire: The Psychological Hazards of Covering War. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. . Hight, Joe and Frank Smyth. Tragedies and Journalists, Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, 2003. Newman, E. & Shapiro, B. Helping Journalists Who Cover Humanitarian Crisis, In G. Reyes (ed.). International Disaster Psychology, Vol. IV, Westport, CT: Praeger Publications, 2007. . Newman, E., R. Simpson and Handschuh, David, "Trauma Exposure and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Photojournalists." News Photographer 58(1): 4–13, 2003; Visual Communication Quarterly (Routledge), 10(1) 4–13, January 2003, . Simpson, Roger and William Cote. Covering Violence: A Guide to Ethical Reporting About Victims of Trauma. Columbia University Press, 2006. . Simpson, Roger and Boggs, James, "An Exploratory Study of Traumatic Stress Among Newspaper Journalists", Journalism and Communication Monographs, AEJMC, Spring 1999.
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