Suicide and the Media - The reporting and portrayal of suicide in the media

Suicide and the Media - The reporting and portrayal of suicide in the media - a resource
Date of publication: 1999

HP 3323

Background

Evidence suggests that some ways of reporting and portrayal of suicide in the media may increase rates of suicidal behaviour. The media can therefore contribute to suicide prevention by understanding the aspects of reporting and portrayal that might increase the risk for vulnerable people.

This resource provides information to assist the media to report and portray suicide safely. It outlines some key considerations when reporting suicide, such as:

avoid inadvertently glorifying suicide
include reliable information and information on where to go for help
don’t report detailed descriptions of suicide methods
avoid repetition, placing the story on the front page, and the word ‘suicide’ in the headline
avoid photographs or dramatic visuals
take particular care when reporting suicides by celebrities
be aware that people bereaved by suicide are themselves at higher risk

See 'Reporting Suicide: At a Glance' (provided below) for a quick check list of considerations for media when reporting or portraying suicide.

Document availability

This publication is available in hard copy.

To order a copy email moh@wickliffe.co.nz or call 04 496 2277 quoting HP number 3323. Please let us know your name, your physical address and how many copies you would like.

It is also available on this website in PDF format below:

Suicide and the Media (PDF, 204kB)

Reporting Suicide: At a Glance Card (PDF, 54 KB)

This publication has been converted to Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF). Go to information on downloading and viewing PDFs.

Suicide and the Media - The reporting and portrayal of suicide in the media - a resource

Background

Document availability

Related information