Celebrity Suicide Media Recommendations for Reporting Suicide Not Followed

• Published in: Crisis : the journal of crisis intervention and suicide prevention Vol. 42; no. 6; pp. 418 - 424
• Main Authors: Hedman-Robertson, Amy S., Sage, Starr K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hogrefe Publishing 01-11-2021
• Subjects: Death and Dying; Fame; Female; Help Seeking Behavior; Human; Mass Media; Social Media; Suicide; Suicide Prevention; Websites; media guidelines; media reporting; celebrity suicide; suicide
• ISSN: 0227-5910; 2151-2396
• DOI: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000734

Background: Increased suicides following media coverage of celebrities'
suicide deaths have been documented in several countries. Recommendations for
Reporting on Suicide were published to provide guidance for media professionals
when covering suicide. Research indicates guidelines have been poorly followed.
Aim: We aimed to determine whether the recommendations were similarly
observed when studying two online news organizations' coverage of a celebrity's suicide.
Method: In the 3 days following a high-profile celebrity's death, two US
cable networks' news websites were studied to compare how the death was reported. Online
articles were reviewed using a coding rubric organized by six themes and 21 coding
categories. Results: Between the two organizations, 34 articles were
published. Regarding the recommendations, neither source followed all of the
recommendations, as measured in this study. Source A fared better in providing
help-seeking information. Limitations: Only two news organizations were
studied for a 3-day period. Online videos, print articles, and social media were excluded.
Conclusion: The suicide of a celebrity received repetitive media
coverage with little emphasis on prevention or help-seeking. The recommendations were not
consistently followed by the two news websites included in this review.