At a Glance

Why should I run the story?
Consider whether the story needs to be run at all, and how many suicide stories you have run recently. A succession of stories can promote a dose response factor and normalise suicidal behaviour as an acceptable option.

Language
Use the term 'suicide' sparingly and check the language you use does not glamorise, sensationalise, or present suicide as a solution to problems - eg consider using 'non-fatal' not 'unsuccessful'; or 'cluster of deaths' rather than 'suicide epidemic'. Ther term 'committed suicide' is outdated, use 'died by suicide' or 'took his/her own life' instead.

Don't be explicit about method
Most members of the media follow a code - written or unwritten - that the method and location of suicide is not described, displayed or photographed. If it is important to the story, discuss the method and location in general terms only - eg consider using 'cocktail of drugs' rather than a description of the medications taken.  Detailed description can prompt some vulnerable people to copy the act.

Celebrity suicide
Celebrity suicide is often reported where it is considered to be in the public interest. Coverage of celebrity suicide can glamorise or prompt imitation suicide. Avoid descriptions of the method of suicide and seek comment on the wastefulness of the act and provide helplines.

Positioning the story
Some evidence suggests a link between prominent placement of suicide stories and copycat suicide. Position the story on the inside pages of a paper or magazines, or further down in the order of reports in TV and radio news.

Interviewing the bereaved
The bereaved are often at risk of suicide themselves. Follow media codes of practice on privacy, grief and trauma when reporting personal tragedy.

Place the story in context
Many people who die by suicide have a mental disorder, a drug-related illness or other familial or social risk factors. Reporting the underlying causes of suicide can help dispel myths and increase community understanding.

Include helpline contacts
Include phone numbers and contact details for support services. This provides immediate support for those who may have been distressed, or prompted to act, by your story.

Issues to consider when reporting suicide

Suicide is a topic of legitimate public interest. National and international research, however, indicates there are potential risks to the community when reporting suicide in certain ways. As such, media codes of practice reinforce the need for media professional to proceed with caution when considering a report about suicide.
Most media interviewed during the review of this resource said that they would not report a suicide story unless it was a celebrity suicide or otherwise ‘newsworthy’. Yet recent research 1 showed that suicide was being widely reported – a total of 4,960 news items on suicide were recorded in a 12-month period in Australia.

Some issues to consider for reporting suicide are outlined below.

Volume and prominence of suicide stories

• Consider whether the story needs to be run at all and how many stories about suicide have been run by the media outlet recently or in other media outlets. A succession of stories about suicide can normalise suicidal behaviour as an acceptable option.
• Some evidence suggests a link between prominent placement of suicide stories and copycat suicide. Locate the story on the inside pages of a newspaper, magazine and journal, or further down the order of TV and radio reports.
• Consider the potential impact of the story, or elements of the story, on vulnerable audiences. The risk of harm is increased where a vulnerable reader, listener or viewer identifies with the person in the report in some way.

Method of suicide

• Research shows that reporting the method of suicide is directly linked to copycat suicides. A more detailed description of the method can prompt some vulnerable people to imitate the act.
• In most cases, the method of suicide will not be important to the story. Just because it is of interest to some members of the public does not mean it is ‘in the public interest’ to disclose this information.
• If it is important to the story, discuss the method in general terms only. For example, use ‘cocktail of drugs’ instead of describing the specific type and number of medications taken.
• Particular caution should exercise when reporting a method that may be unusual. Research indicates that others may start to use that means of taking their own life following media reports.

Location of suicide

• In some instances, media reports of locations used for suicide may result in these places becoming popular for suicide attempts. Particular care should be taken not to further promote these locations as ‘suicide spots’. 
• If it is important to make reference to a location, describe it in general terms only. For example, use ‘at a nearby park’ instead of detailing the exact location of the park.

Language

Check the language you use does not glamorise or sensationalise suicide, or present suicide as a solution to problems. For example:

• The term ‘committed suicide’ or ‘successful suicide’ are outdated and inaccurate. It is preferable to use ‘died by suicide’, ‘took own life’ or ‘ended own life'.
• Use ‘non-fatal attempt’ or ‘attempted suicide’ rather than ‘unsuccessful' or 'failed suicide’ or ‘suicide bid’. 
• Use ‘cluster of deaths’ or ‘increasing rates’ rather than ‘suicide epidemic’, which is alarmist and implies that suicide can spread like a disease. 
• Avoid gratuitous use of ‘suicide’, such as ‘suicide mission’, ‘suicide bomber’ or ‘political suicide’ when other terms are more appropriate. 
• Use of the word ‘suicide’ in a headline should be avoided where possible. It can contribute to glamorising and normalising suicide and may attract vulnerable people to the story.

Celebrity suicide

• Celebrity suicide is often reported where it is considered to be in the public interest. Coverage of suicide by a celebrity can glamorise and normalise suicide, with research showing it can prompt imitation suicide in vulnerable people. 
• Avoid descriptions of the method and seek comment on the wastefulness of the act. 
• Calls to Australian helplines in response to media coverage of celebrity suicide show that people are more likely to seek help when phone numbers are supplied as part of the story. In this way the media provide much needed information to their audiences.

Interviewing bereaved friends and family

People bereaved by suicide are at an increased risk of suicide themselves. Follow media codes of practice on privacy, grief and trauma when reporting personal tragedy. For example, interviewing the bereaved immediately after or on the anniversary of a suicide death can be very distressing for them.

Place the story in context

Many people who take their own life have a mental disorder, a drug related illness or other family or social risk factors. Where this is the case, reporting the underlying causes of suicide can help dispel myths that suicide is not related to a person’s mental state.

Discussing risk factors and warning signs also promotes a better understanding of suicide as an issue and increases people’s confidence to offer help to people at risk. Refer to the Mindframe website at
www.mindframe-media.info or the LIFE website at www.livingisforeveryone.com.au for more information.

Suicide in Indigenous communities

In many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, naming or depicting an image of a person who has died can cause great distress. Consult with community members or the family about appropriate language and visuals. Place consumer advice before a broadcast to alert viewers or listeners that deceased person may feature in the program.

Add helpline numbers

• Media stories often include helpline numbers and contact details for support services to provide the public with options for seeking help. Helpline numbers also provide immediate support for people who may be distressed or prompted to act by your story.
• Ensure that for stories about suicide that a 24-hour crisis number is added, rather than a general information and referral line (see the Contact section for advice).
• Ensure that you add the most relevant crisis information to the story. Is it more appropriate to add a national or local number? One for young people or adults?
• If adding a helpline or service specifically, try to let them know when the story is run so they can better respond to a spike in calls generated by your report.

Seek expert advice

Where reporting suicide is thought to be in the public interest, reports should be based on the most reliable information about suicide. A story may be improved by obtaining the views of health experts or appropriate community leaders. See the Contacts section or refer to the website at www.mindframe-media.info for more details.

Selection and placement of photos and footage

While use of photographs and footage of the scene, location and method of suicide have been used in media stories to add emphasis or gain public and government attention, evidence shows this leads to imitation by people who are vulnerable and should not be used. Avoid using photographs of a dead person unless given permission by family members. Where used, it is best to avoid placing photographs on the front page as this over-dramatises the act of suicide.

Reporting self-harm

• Many of the guidelines for reporting suicide apply to the issue of selfharm. However, there are some additional recommendations listed below.
• Self-harm is misunderstood by many people in the community.
• Avoid perpetuating common myths about self-harm. It is inaccurate to imply that they do it: to manipulate people or situations; to attract attention; to feign suicide; because they belong to a subculture such as ‘Emo’ or ‘Goth’.
• Language used in media reports may glamourise or sensationalise self-harming behaviour. Referring to self-harm as a ‘fad’ can minimise the seriousness of the issue and prevent people from seeking help.
• Using labels to describe people as ‘cutters’ or ‘self-harmers’ can also lead to increased judgement and alienation of people who display these behaviours.
• Be mindful that methods of self-harm are often similar to or the same as methods of suicide. Exercise the same caution used with methods of suicide for methods of self-harm.

The Mindframe website at www.mindframe-media.info provides more information on reporting both suicide and self-harm.

The impact of media reporting

• Reporting suicide may influence people who are already vulnerable to suicidal behaviour. 
• Celebrity suicide usually makes headline news. These reports may lead to copycat suicides by people who identify with the celebrity. 
• Reporting the method of suicide may influence vulnerable people to use the same method of suicide.
• For more on the evidence on the impact of media reporting, see Section 2.

A survey by Blood and Pirkis et al on reporting of suicide in the Australian media between September 2006 and August 2007 found that:

• 14% of items reported the method of suicide in detail;
• 21.2% of media items included ‘suicide’ in the headline;
• only 17.7% of stories included helpline numbers or referral information; 
• 4.1% of items included a photograph, diagram or footage depicting the suicide scene, locations or method. See Section 1 for more detail.

References

1 Pirkis, J., Blood, W.R. et al., (2008) op cit