Caroline Hall03/08/11Megan Spratt Interview

The Dart Center is a new international organization designed to report on news revolving around violence, tragedy and conflict. The director of Dart Center West, Megan Spratt, held a press conference on March 7th to comment on the grounds of the organization.

The Dart Center was created to help journalists deal and learn about how to write about trauma while still taking care of themselves. The Dart Center headquarters is based in Columbia, New York while the Dart Center West is stationed in Seattle and has expanded over the years to other parts of countries such as London, Germany, Latin America, Australasia and in Indonesia.

The organization covers stories more along the lines of local tragedy such as homicide and suicide. When they cover more national news Megan Spratt said it covers things like, “Terrorists, combat reporting and natural disasters”.

The Dart Center doesn’t just teach how to write and deal with trauma, but also how to stay sane at the end of a workday. “What helps after a tuff day is a glass of wine or a beer, but doing it in moderation” stated Spratt. Experimenting with relaxation programs like yoga or doing activities that had nothing to do with work that day also serve as great relaxation techniques.

Reporters in this field also learn to be effective through sincerity, listening skills, and learning how to handle his or her own emotions at the Dart Center. If people breakdown in an interview, “ You’re job is not to counsel them, but that doesn’t mean you keep asking questions” stated Spratt.

Every journalist should learn in training about why people are reacting the way they are. Spratt commented, “ You don’t say I know how you feel because the story is about them and not you, but you can say I’m sorry for what happened to you”.

Even though journalists go through training sometimes they report becoming desensitized to certain trauma. Spratt remarked that desensitization could serve as a self-protecting measure like when humor is connected.

Although some journalists can become desensitized, some journalists like Spratt have more difficulty with some traumatic stories than others. “Stories dealing with kids are more difficult or when you’re dealing with a trauma you’ve been through yourself,” stated Spratt.

Even though some reporters appear to handle traumatic situations Spratt states, “It’s tuff to read one tragedy after another and there will be days I want to go work with puppies”. Spratt does comment on the rewarding parts, as well when she states, “the initial adrenaline rush” is a part of a reason why people go into journalism. She continues to say that the job is exciting and in the long term, if you listen to the people and give them a voice it can become helpful to others

Megan Spratt joined the Dart Center to discover new ways on how to deal with reporting on trauma events and has been working there to do the same for others. More information is available for anyone interested about the Dart Center and what they offer on the Dart Center’s website, www.dartcenter.org.