• Suicide Awareness Presentations for the Public • Student-run Media Campaigns in Schools • Parent Awareness • Public Awareness

Guidelines for Media Coverage of Suicide

Reports concerning suicide are certainly newsworthy, particularly in a state like Washington where, on average, every week two youths take their own lives. It is important that the public is aware of the magnitude of the problem.

The media can play a powerful role in educating the public about suicide prevention. Stories about suicide can inform readers and viewers about the likely causes of suicide, its warning signs, trends in suicide rates, and recent treatment advances. They can also highlight opportunities to prevent suicide. Media stories about individual deaths by suicide may be newsworthy and need to be covered, but they also have the potential to do harm.

Suicide Contagion
It is suspected that teenagers and young adults are more vulnerable to the phenomenon of ‘contagion’ than other age groups. See article: Media may play a role in copycat suicides.

Given the concern that reporting of youth suicides can prompt "copycat" incidents, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) and other groups developed guidelines for media reporting the incidence of youth suicide. Below is an overview of key points; complete “Recommendations for the Media” including facts and suggested angles, are found at the AAS Media page.

• Avoid presenting simplistic explanations for suicide
  Youth suicide knows no demographic or sociological boundaries because there are many complex factors that contribute to the high rate at which youths seriously consider suicide.
• Be aware that it is suspected that coverage that simply reports the incident of a suicide can promote contagion
  Alternative approaches that investigate the story behind the story should be considered.
• Take care not to sensationalize coverage
  So-called sensational coverage can be minimized by limiting morbid details of a suicide and by avoiding the use of dramatic photographs.
• Avoid ‘how-to’ descriptions of suicide
  It is also thought that technical details about the method of suicide used in a particular incidence may lead to imitation by others who are considering suicide.
• Take care not to position a suicide as a means for accomplishing certain ends.
  Some news reports have presented suicide as a coping strategy, which can prompt suicidal youth to view death as an attractive solution.
• Avoid glorifying the incident
  Contagion also can result when an individual's suicide leads to prominent coverage of eulogies or memorials.
• Be aware that suicide coverage often emphasizes the victim's positive characteristics
  To put a suicide within context, it is important to note the victim's problems in addition to the positive aspects of his or her life.