Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Given the economics of today's newsrooms, journalists must do increasingly more with less. Few news organizations are in a position to deliver in-depth training on pressing issues or carve out time to reflect on their craft. Meanwhile, complex public mental health issues pose serious challenges – especially the return of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, many of whom have served multiple tours of duty.

The Thomas Scattergood Foundation for Behavioral Health has awarded the Dart Center a grant to deliver professional training workshops for journalists in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. These workshops aim to increase the capacity of local and regional news media to provide informed, expertly-sourced and timely reporting on mental health issues. They will also connect working journalists, editors and producers with leading local and national experts, facilitate relationships that can inform news coverage over the long run, share best practices and navigate ethical challenges for journalists pursuing these stories.

Similar to "When Veterans Come Home," a workshop organized in Atlanta by the Dart Center in collaboration with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and The Carter Center Mental Health program, the workshops in Philadelphia will draw on the expertise of these two institutional partners.

The workshops will be used as the basis for permanent website resources, including tip sheets, background briefing documents, expert interviews and other materials to promote effective and ethical reporting on mental health issues to serve the wider journalism community.