Reflecting on a crisis, charting a path forward: A resilience workshop for Minnesota journalists

A wind-down for Operation Metro Surge has been announced, but this story will be our story for a very long time.

As we navigate this pivot point — taking stock of all that we've seen and experienced, and looking ahead to the next phase of this moment — the Minnesota Journalism Center invites you to spend part of your Saturday morning with other Minnesota journalists for a retreat-style workshop led by the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma (formerly the Dart Center) on Feb. 21.

This workshop will offer a chance to step back and reflect on the personal and professional impacts of the past few months, and learn practical resilience and reporting strategies as we shift forward — because we can best serve our communities by taking care of ourselves and each other.
 

• When: Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026
• Time: 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. CT
• Location: Twin Cities metro — we'll share the details after you RSVP
• RSVP:  Please let us know you'll be joining us by Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (If you'd like to drop in without registering, please email Meg at [email protected] so we can be sure to pull up a chair for you!)

Who this is for: Journalists in Minnesota — in any role, working independently or inside a newsroom. We are all are navigating the simultaneous stresses of covering Operation Metro Surge and its impacts and living this experience in our communities — and it lands differently for everyone. 

If you're looking for an opportunity to pause, take stock and recenter yourself before moving forward in this coverage and in this moment, this is it. 

What to expect: This workshop is designed to help us make sense of this moment and its impact on us, individually and as a journalism community. It will be facilitated by Global Center for Journalism and Trauma experts, who will lead us through exercises to reflect on the personal and professional challenges of the past few months. 

This session will equip you with practical strategies and tools to help you lean into your own resilience — and support the resilience  of your colleagues — as we look to the days and weeks ahead.

Taking it further: After the session, there will be opportunities for one-on-one conversations with the Global Center trauma experts to discuss any issues or challenges you would like to explore.

Questions about this training session? Contact the Minnesota Journalism Center's Meg Martin at [email protected].

About the trainers

Bruce Shapiro is Executive Director of the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma, encouraging innovative reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy worldwide.

An award-winning reporter on human rights, criminal justice and politics, Shapiro is a contributing editor at The Nation and U.S. correspondent for Late Night Live on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National. He has taught investigative journalism at Yale University and journalism ethics at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.  

In 1999 he co-founded the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma and served as its executive director from 2006-2025, first at the University of Washington and then Columbia University. 

Shapiro's books include Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of Investigative Journalism in America and Legal Lynching: The Death Penalty and America's Future, co-authored with Rev. Jesse Jackson and Jesse Jackson Jr. Shapiro is recipient of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Public Advocacy Award for "outstanding and fundamental contributions to the social understanding of trauma." He is a member of  Columbia University's Society of Senior Scholars.

Elana Newman is the research director at the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma. She serves as the McFarlin Professor of Psychology and Affiliate Faculty in Media Studies at the University of Tulsa. She specializes in understanding and treating trauma-related conditions and training students and professionals from many professions about the skills they need to work effectively with people suffering from trauma-related problems. 

Newman’s work in journalism and trauma focuses on the occupational health of journalists, including safety, harassment, educational needs, coping with trauma exposure, ethics, and the impact of trauma news on consumers. She  trains journalists on interviewing survivors, trauma-informed news management, covering traumatic events in local contexts including sexual violence on campus, self-care and occupational health, and general trauma information. 

Newman also consults with journalists and documentary filmmakers about various ethical and professional trauma-related issues related to storytelling. She is a founding staff member of the Journalist Trauma Support Network to train qualified therapists to care for trauma-impacted journalists team members. She co-directed the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma’s’ first satellite office in NYC after the 9-11 attacks. Newman is a past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Kim Bellware is a journalist-in-residence at the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma. She covered breaking news on the General Assignment desk at The Washington Post, where she focused on mass shootings, extreme weather events, the death penalty, abortion access and other legal affairs. 

In addition to her role as a reporter, she served as guest host on "Post Reports," The Washington Post's daily news podcast. 

She lives in Chicago where she previously led teams of emerging reporting fellows at the civic journalism lab, City Bureau, and freelanced for outlets including The New York Times, The Atlantic, New York Magazine and Rolling Stone.

About the training partners

The Global Center for Journalism and Trauma is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to informed, innovative and ethical news reporting on violence, crisis and tragedy, and to the psychological resilience of journalists worldwide.

Drawing on an international and interdisciplinary network of news professionals, mental health experts, educators and researchers, the Global Center provides reporters and filmmakers with the knowledge, skills and support necessary to meet the challenge of trauma-aware reporting. Grounded in both the highest standards of journalism practice and evidence-based trauma science, the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma:

• Advocates for compassionate, ethical and professional reporting on victims and survivors;
• Advances press freedom through research and education on the impact of trauma-facing reporting and best practices to foster resilience in news professionals;
• Provides a professional forum for journalists across all media to share knowledge and ideas, advance strategies related to effective, ethical reporting on violence and tragedy and foster best practices in professional trauma awareness and duty of care.

The Minnesota Journalism Center supports a more vibrant, equitable, and sustainable ecosystem for journalism in Minnesota through educational initiatives, applied research and engagement with newsrooms and journalists across the state.

The MJC is based at the University of Minnesota's Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication and serves journalists across Minnesota in every stage of their careers.