Suicide reporting in electronic and print media; An observational study

Abstract

Background: Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in India. The effect of suicide reporting in mass media like print and digital platforms is prominent as its reach is vast, fast, and impacts different kinds of individuals. We aimed to analyze suicide reporting in India in national and regional newspapers and electronic media. Materials and Methods: Suicide reporting in six national and regional newspapers and one online english news portal in India were studied by the first author from August to November 2020 after obtaining approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee. All the suicide reports from the mentioned newspapers and online web portal were considered on all days of the month and inspection was done manually and compared against ten points of a standard reporting after evaluating various guidelines on suicide reporting. The percentage-wise compliance of the suicide reporting guidelines was deciphered and inferential analysis was conducted. Results: Nearly 100% of all the suicide reports were non-compliant in at least one of the parameters. The parameter with the maximum non-compliance was “Suicide Helpline,” i.e., 98% of the analyzed reports did not mention any means to seek help or did not provide adequate information to do so. About 94% of the reports mentioned personal information in one way or other while 86% of the reports attributed the suicide to one particular stressor. The total non-compliance score for print and electronic media was 58% and 61%, respectively. The non-compliance score of both national level print newspapers and that of regional-level print newspapers was 58%. Conclusion: Given the high rates of non-compliance to suicide reporting guidelines by the print and electronic media, they need to be sensitized to the responsibility they carry regarding suicide reporting and the guidelines can only be formulated as a collaborative effort between media personnel and health care professionals to achieve their common goal.