The newsworthiness of suicide.
There is a paucity of studies examining which suicides are considered news-worthy. By combining data on media reports of individuals' suicides with routinely collected suicide data, it was found that 1% of Australian suicides were reported over a 1-year period. There was evidence of over-reporting of suicides by older people and females, and those involving dramatic methods. Reported suicides fell into three groups: suicides reported in a broader context; suicides by celebrities; and suicides involving unusual circumstances/methods. The data suggest a need for media professionals and suicide experts to work together to balance newsworthiness against the risk of copycat behavior.
Pirkis
Jane
J
School of Population Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. jpirkis@unimelb.edu.au
Burgess
Philip
P
Blood
R Warwick
RW
Francis
Catherine
C
D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D008875:Middle Aged; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data