title: Media reporting and suicide: a time-series study of suicide from Clifton Suspension Bridge, UK, 1974-2007.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Media reports of suicide may provoke further 'copy-cat' suicides. Trends in reporting quality and impact of reporting on suicides from a particular 'hot-spot' have not been investigated previously.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inquest files and death certificates were used to identify suicides from Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, UK, 1974-2007. Copies of local newspaper and television reports within 3 days of death or inquest were obtained. Parametric survival models were used to examine the impact of media reports on subsequent suicides.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over 34 years, there were 206 suicides and 427 media reports of suicide from the bridge. The number of reports per suicide has declined markedly from 2.8 per suicide in the 1970s to 0.7 per suicide in the 2000s (P<0.001). While some aspects of reporting improved, others deteriorated or remained poorly reported. There has been an increase in sensational reporting (use of images was 5% in the 1970s and 16% in the 2000s) and in information about the suicide method. There was no evidence that media reports provoked further suicides.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Media reporting of suicide from Clifton Suspension Bridge declined over the study period; however, most aspects of the quality of reporting remained poor. There was no evidence of media reports provoking further suicides.
authors.affiliation: NHS North Somerset, Waverly House, Old Church Road, Clevedon, North Somerset BS21 6NN, UK. susan.hamilton@nhs.net
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Metcalfe
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gunnell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D008875:Middle Aged; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000639:trends*; D055815:Young Adult