Week 15

When should suicides be covered?

Whether to report on suicide or not, cannot be determined generally. Each case is different and should always be handled individually and with specific care. What do we know about the person who committed suicide? Who are they leaving behind?

The main decision making factor when deciding if suicide should be covered is public interest, thus celebrity suicides are the most talked about in the press. A famous example is the Marilyn Monroe suicide in 1962. However, the in-depth and detailed coverage in the media lead to an increase in the suicide rate (Miller et al., 2002) Therefore it is important not to disclose too much detail about the method of killing, because of the potential contagion effects when reporting on suicide (Jamieson et al 2003)

Journalists should educate people about the reasons behind such a drastic decision (e.g. mental health problems) and possible early warning signals of suicidal thoughts. Reporting on suicide is necessary to create awareness and spread the word about where to seek help and treatment if needed, but coverage should always be handled very sensitively.

References:

Jamieson, P., Jamieson, K. and Romer, D., 2003. The Responsible Reporting of Suicide in Print Journalism. American Behavioral Scientist [online], 46 (12), 1643-1660.

Miller, M., Azrael, D. and Hemenway, D., 2002. Household firearm ownership and suicide rates in the United States. Epidemiology, 13 (5), 517-524.

 

When we decide to write about suicide, how should we do so?

Journalists have to be very careful when writing about suicide. As mentioned in the previous answer, each story is different and has to be assessed carefully to decide how to report it. Although public interest can justify a detailed coverage of celebrity suicides, Journalists have to take extra caution as they are “5.27 times more likely to report a copycat effect than studies based on non-celebrity suicides.” (Cheng et al. 2007) So a strong public interest is not an excuse to forget about all the consideration that have to be made. Accuracy is important with any story, but when reporting on suicide we cannot allow ourselves mistakes as those left behind already have to deal with a special kind of grief. We should never jump to conclusions about what the reasons behind the act might have been. This should only be reported if 100% certain and again, in a very sensitive way. When interviewing grieving family and friends we have to be very cautious about every little thing we say, as anything could trigger a very strong reaction. “The media must report responsibly, have some consideration for the deceased, but (probably most importantly) the media has a role to play in educating citizens about suicide”. (Luce, 2016) Journalists should always include information about the complexity of suicide and create awareness. As anyone reading the article could have suicidal thoughts, a helpline should always be included.

References:

Cheng, A. T. A., Hawton, K., Lee, C. T. C. and Chen, T. H. H., 2007. The influence of media reporting of the suicide of a celebrity on suicide rates: A population-based study. International Journal of Epidemiology, 36 (6), 1229–1234.

Luce, A., 2016. The Bridgend Suicides: Suicide and the Media. London: Palgrave MacMillan.

 

 

Is it our job simply to reflect reality, or do we have a responsibility to protect our readers and viewers from disturbing images?

This is an often discussed ethical dilemma and finding a concrete answer is very difficult.

Due to the internet, social media and smartphones, there’s been a growth in citizen journalism leading to more and more content created by the public. It is now common occurence for media outlets to receive graphic images taken by people that just happened to be on the scene when a major attack or catastrophe took place. Therefore editors find themselves in a difficult position when deciding whether to broadcast them or not.

Some argue that readers or viewers shouldn’t be shielded from the truth. A according to Kratzer in case of a horrible event it is important to broadcast graphic images because if they weren’t shown, people would’t recognise the gravity of the event, but the image helps convey what really happened.

On the other hand showing graphic content can create moral panic. Garland suggest that images of death and killings contribute to the politics of fear, and the belief that we are all actual or potential victims that need protection from sources of fear, as terrorists and criminals.

I think every journalist needs to decide for themselves if they regard sharing disturbing pictures as necessary. The pros and cons have to be weighed in each specific case in order to come to a morally sustainable conclusion.

References:

Garland, D., 2001. “The Culture Of Control: Crime And Social Order In Contemporary Society.” Chicago: University Of Chicago Press

Kratzer, R. M. and Kratzer, B., 2003. “How Newspapers Decided To Run Disturbing 9/11 Photos”. Media Studies Of September 11, 24 (1), pp.34-47.