Alexandra Pitman1, Fiona Stevenson2. 1. <location>UCL Division of Psychiatry, University College London, UK</location> 2. <location>UCL Department of Primary Care & Population Health, University College London Royal Free Campus, London, UK</location>
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Many suicide prevention strategies promote media guidelines on suicide reporting, given evidence that irresponsible reporting of suicide can influence imitative suicidal behavior. Due to limited resources, monitoring of guideline adherence has tended to focus on news outputs, with a risk of neglecting other journalistic content. AIMS: To determine whether British newspapers' arts coverage adheres to media guidelines on suicide reporting. METHOD: Purposive sampling was used to capture current national practice on suicide reporting within newspapers' arts coverage of exhibitions. Recent major UK exhibitions by artists who had died by suicide were identified: Kirchner, Rothko, Gorky, and Van Gogh. Content analysis of all UK national newspaper coverage of these exhibitions was performed to measure the articles' adherence to widely accepted media guidelines. RESULTS: In all, 68 newspaper reviews satisfied inclusion criteria, with 100% failing to show full adherence to media guidelines: 21% used inappropriate language; 38% provided explicit descriptions of the suicide; 7% employed simplistic explanations for suicide triggers; 27% romanticized the suicide; and 100% omitted information on sources of support. CONCLUSION: British newspapers' arts coverage of exhibitions deviates considerably from media guidelines on the reporting of suicide. The findings suggest scope to improve journalists' awareness of the importance of this component of suicide prevention strategies.
BACKGROUND: Many suicide prevention strategies promote media guidelines on suicide reporting, given evidence that irresponsible reporting of suicide can influence imitative suicidal behavior. Due to limited resources, monitoring of guideline adherence has tended to focus on news outputs, with a risk of neglecting other journalistic content. AIMS: To determine whether British newspapers' arts coverage adheres to media guidelines on suicide reporting. METHOD: Purposive sampling was used to capture current national practice on suicide reporting within newspapers' arts coverage of exhibitions. Recent major UK exhibitions by artists who had died by suicide were identified: Kirchner, Rothko, Gorky, and Van Gogh. Content analysis of all UK national newspaper coverage of these exhibitions was performed to measure the articles' adherence to widely accepted media guidelines. RESULTS: In all, 68 newspaper reviews satisfied inclusion criteria, with 100% failing to show full adherence to media guidelines: 21% used inappropriate language; 38% provided explicit descriptions of the suicide; 7% employed simplistic explanations for suicide triggers; 27% romanticized the suicide; and 100% omitted information on sources of support. CONCLUSION: British newspapers' arts coverage of exhibitions deviates considerably from media guidelines on the reporting of suicide. The findings suggest scope to improve journalists' awareness of the importance of this component of suicide prevention strategies.
Authors: Philip Gregory; Fiona Stevenson; Michael King; David Osborn; Alexandra Pitman Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2020-02-20 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Chloe Chang Sorensen; Mego Lien; Vicki Harrison; John J Donoghue; Jeevanjot Singh Kapur; Song Hi Kim; Nhi Thi Tran; Shashank V Joshi; Sita G Patel Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-03-04 Impact factor: 3.390