Sarah A McInerney, Anna C Robertson, Alekx Schneeback, Rhiannon Oakes, Andrew Lac
{"title":"Predicting Sensationalism in Suicide Story Headlines.","authors":"Sarah A McInerney, Anna C Robertson, Alekx Schneeback, Rhiannon Oakes, Andrew Lac","doi":"10.1027/0227-5910/a000943","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b></b> <i>Objective:</i> Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, and media publicity plays a role in suicide rates. The United States offers guidelines for the reporting of suicide. This study evaluated guideline adherence in newspaper and newswire publications covering celebrity suicide deaths. The research also assessed whether the sensationalism of article headlines could be predicted by variables reflecting nonadherent reporting. <i>Method:</i> Publications from 2013 to 2018 reporting on nine celebrity suicides were evaluated via content analysis. Adherence was assessed in a two-step hierarchical linear regression to determine which variables predicted sensationalism in headlines. <i>Results:</i> Overall adherence to reporting guidelines was moderate. Newspaper disclosure of suicide method only, suicide method and location, and note contents significantly predicted headline sensationalism in the first regression model, <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 22%. The sensationalism in the body of the article and other variables additionally predicted headline sensationalism in the second regression model, <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 55%. <i>Limitations</i>: This study is limited to celebrity suicide reporting and may not reflect media reporting trends of noncelebrity suicide deaths. <i>Conclusion</i>: Findings reveal that sensationalism in the body of the article and other variables uniquely contributed to sensationalism in newspaper headlines. This suggests that the public could be at risk for reading harmful content not consistent with reporting recommendations about suicide because of the initial attraction to sensational headlines.</p>","PeriodicalId":47943,"journal":{"name":"Crisis-The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention","volume":" ","pages":"271-279"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Crisis-The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000943","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/2/6 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, and media publicity plays a role in suicide rates. The United States offers guidelines for the reporting of suicide. This study evaluated guideline adherence in newspaper and newswire publications covering celebrity suicide deaths. The research also assessed whether the sensationalism of article headlines could be predicted by variables reflecting nonadherent reporting. Method: Publications from 2013 to 2018 reporting on nine celebrity suicides were evaluated via content analysis. Adherence was assessed in a two-step hierarchical linear regression to determine which variables predicted sensationalism in headlines. Results: Overall adherence to reporting guidelines was moderate. Newspaper disclosure of suicide method only, suicide method and location, and note contents significantly predicted headline sensationalism in the first regression model, R2 = 22%. The sensationalism in the body of the article and other variables additionally predicted headline sensationalism in the second regression model, R2 = 55%. Limitations: This study is limited to celebrity suicide reporting and may not reflect media reporting trends of noncelebrity suicide deaths. Conclusion: Findings reveal that sensationalism in the body of the article and other variables uniquely contributed to sensationalism in newspaper headlines. This suggests that the public could be at risk for reading harmful content not consistent with reporting recommendations about suicide because of the initial attraction to sensational headlines.
期刊介绍:
A must for all who need to keep up on the latest findings from both basic research and practical experience in the fields of suicide prevention and crisis intervention! This well-established periodical’s reputation for publishing important articles on suicidology and crisis intervention from around the world is being further enhanced with the move to 6 issues per year (previously 4) in 2010. But over and above its scientific reputation, Crisis also publishes potentially life-saving information for all those involved in crisis intervention and suicide prevention, making it important reading for clinicians, counselors, hotlines, and crisis intervention centers.