The Dart Center's mission is 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.
[1][2] The Dart Center has 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.
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, and Frank Ochberg, a psychiatrist and authority on post traumatic stress disorder.
[7] Among the Dart Center's programs are the annual Dart Center Awards for Excellence in Reporting on Trauma (given annually since 1994) and the fellowship program,[8] 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.