title: [Characterization of News on Suicide in the Printed Press in Colombia].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Suicide is a major public health problem. It is believed that the media plays an important role in the onset of suicidal behavior. Certain sub-groups of the population (for instance, young people or those suffering from depression) can be especially vulnerable to engage in imitative suicidal behaviors.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To characterize news reports on suicide published in the printed press in Bogotá. To identify strategies, models or structures used in the print media (newspapers) to report suicide cases. To establish whether the way of reporting suicide cases is appropriate according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).
  
  
  METHODS
  A detailed search was performed to find news on suicide or suicide attempts published in three Colombian newspapers -2 of them with national circulation (El Espectador and El Tiempo), and one with local circulation (El Espacio)-, during the period between August 2009 and August 2011. Compliance with WHO recommendations by the 3 newspapers was compared using Fisher tests; the frequency of news release was assessed using statistical control charts, and headlines were evaluated by lexicometric analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the study period, a total of 135 items of news relating to cases occurring in Colombia were found. Although there were differences between the newspapers, none of them fully met the WHO recommendations. There was no clear trend in the way of presenting the news. Three styles were found in the presentation of news (suggestive, sensationalist, and revealing impact on survivors), which could be associated with each of the 3 newspapers evaluated.
authors.affiliation: Residente de Psiquiatría, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia. Electronic address: lfmunozc@unal.edu.co.
authors.forename: Luis Fernando
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.affiliation: Profesor Departamento de Psiquiatría, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sánchez
keywords: Colombia; Comportamientos para reducción de riesgo; Factores de riesgo; Humanos; Humans; Mass media; Medios de comunicación; Risk factors; Risk reduction behavior; Suicide; Suicidio