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Menon V, Kar SK, Ransing R, Sharma G, Pattnaik JI, Varadharajan N, Kaliamoorthy C, Mukherjee S, Agrawal A, Padhy SK, Arafat SMY. Long-Term Changes in the Quality of Media Reporting of Suicide Following a Celebrity Suicide in India. OMEGA-JOURNAL OF DEATH AND DYING 2023:302228231189849. [PMID: 37453041 DOI: 10.1177/00302228231189849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Online portals of selected English and local language newspapers and television channels were searched to identify suicide news reports published one year after the celebrity suicide (ACS). These reports (n = 1952) were compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, immediately following the celebrity suicide (ICS) (n = 2486), and a three-month period before the celebrity suicide (BCS) (n = 1381) to assess longitudinal changes in quality of media reporting. There was a decline in reporting of several potentially harmful characteristics over time such as mentioning the deceased's age and gender (p < .001 for both), and location of suicide (p < .001). The quality of media reporting of suicide was significantly better at one year compared to the period immediately following celebrity suicide. This change was mainly driven by an improvement in the reporting quality of English news reports while local language reports continued to remain poorly adherent to reporting guidelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikas Menon
- Department of Psychiatry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
| | | | - Ramdas Ransing
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Guwahati, India
| | - Ginni Sharma
- King George's Medical University, Lucknow, India
| | | | - Natarajan Varadharajan
- Department of Psychiatry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
| | - Charanya Kaliamoorthy
- Department of Psychiatry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
| | | | | | - Susanta Kumar Padhy
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, India
| | - S M Yasir Arafat
- Department of Psychiatry, Enam Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
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Raj S, Ghosh A, Sharma B, Goel S. Do online media adhere to the responsible suicide reporting guidelines? A cross sectional study from India. Int J Soc Psychiatry 2022; 68:44-54. [PMID: 33251923 DOI: 10.1177/0020764020975797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The content and nature of media reports could influence suicide prevention measures. AIM To evaluate contemporary online media reports' compliance with guidelines for responsible reporting of suicidal acts from Indian resources. METHODS We included English and Hindi articles for reports concerning suicide, published by local and national media sources for 30 consecutive days from the day of death of a celebrity by alleged suicide. The search was performed in Google News with predefined search queries and selection criteria. Two independent investigators did data extraction. Subsequently, each news report was assessed against guidelines for the responsible reporting of suicide by the WHO and the Press Council of India. RESULTS We identified 295 articles (Hindi n = 172, English n = 123). Results showed more than 80% of the media reports deviated from at least one criterion of the recommendations. A maximum breach was seen in the news article's headlines, sensational reportage and detailed suicide methods description. Significant differences were seen in the quality of English and Hindi reporting and reporting celebrity and noncelebrity suicide. Additional items revealed were reporting suicide pacts, linking multiple suicides in a single news report, allowing user-generated threads and linking Religion and suicide. CONCLUSION Measures are required to implement reporting recommendations in the framework of a national suicide prevention strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonika Raj
- University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Abhishek Ghosh
- Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, India
| | - Babita Sharma
- Department of Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, India
| | - Sonu Goel
- School of Public Health and Department of Community Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, India
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Menon V, Kar SK, Ransing R, Sharma G, Pattnaik JI, Kaliamoorthy C, Varadharajan N, Mukherjee S, Agrawal A, Padhy SK, Arafat SY. Changing trends in quality of media reporting of suicide in the community following a celebrity suicide in India. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2022; 56:81-90. [PMID: 33938292 DOI: 10.1177/00048674211009618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Little is known about changes in quality of media reporting of suicide in the community following a celebrity suicide. Our objective was to compare trends in quality of media reporting of suicide, before and after the suicide of an Indian entertainment celebrity, against the World Health Organization suicide reporting guidelines. METHOD Online news portals of English and local language newspapers, as well as television channels, were searched to identify relevant suicide-related news articles. Comparison of reporting characteristics before and after the celebrity suicide was performed using chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. RESULTS A total of 3867 eligible news reports were retrieved. There was a significant increase in harmful reporting characteristics, such as reporting the name, age and gender of the deceased (p < 0.001 for all comparisons), mentioning the location (p < 0.001) and reason for suicide (p = 0.04) and including photos of the deceased (p = 0.002) following the celebrity suicide. Helpful reporting practices were less affected; there was a significant rise in inclusion of expert opinion (p = 0.04) and mention of suicide-related warning signs (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION Following a celebrity suicide, significant changes in the quality of media reporting of suicide were noted with an increase in several potentially harmful reporting characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikas Menon
- Department of Psychiatry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
| | - Sujita Kumar Kar
- Department of Psychiatry, King George's Medical University, Lucknow, India
| | - Ramdas Ransing
- Department of Psychiatry, B.K.L. Walawalkar Rural Medical College, Ratnagiri, India
| | - Ginni Sharma
- Department of Psychiatry, King George's Medical University, Lucknow, India
| | | | - Charanya Kaliamoorthy
- Department of Psychiatry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
| | - Natarajan Varadharajan
- Department of Psychiatry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India
| | | | - Aditya Agrawal
- Department of Psychiatry, King George's Medical University, Lucknow, India
| | - Susanta Kumar Padhy
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhubaneswar, Bhubaneswar, India
| | - Sm Yasir Arafat
- Department of Psychiatry, Enam Medical College & Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
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Quarshie ENB, Andoh-Arthur J, Asante KO, Asare-Doku W. Online media reporting of suicidal behaviour in Ghana: Analysis of adherence to the WHO guidelines. Int J Soc Psychiatry 2021; 67:251-259. [PMID: 32418459 PMCID: PMC8107450 DOI: 10.1177/0020764020919787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Irresponsible media reporting of suicide is a potential risk for copycat suicide. There is a paucity of studies from sub-Saharan Africa on the quality of media reporting of suicide. OBJECTIVES We assessed the compliance of Ghanaian online media outlets with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for media reporting of suicide. METHODS We searched 10 local media outlets with strong online presence in Ghana, to identify suicide-related news reports from 2000 through 2019. We applied summative content analysis and chi-square (χ2) test to the data. RESULTS We included 288 news reports, of which 261 (90.6%) were completed suicides, 7 (2.4%) were attempted suicides and 20 (6.9%) were homicide suicides. Most of the news reports failed to comply with the WHO guidelines: 92.7% mentioned the specific method of the suicide act, 82.6% included 'suicide' in the headline and 55.6% included photos of the victims. The χ2 tests indicated that privately owned media outlets were more likely than publicly owned to post a photo of the victim, χ2(1) = 17.37, p < .001, and report the incident location in the headline, χ2(1) = 15.00, p < .001. However, generally, there were no statistically significant relationships between the quality of reporting and media outlet ownership. Each of the 288 reports failed to mention any of the potentially helpful features recommended by the WHO guidelines. CONCLUSION Regardless of the ownership of the media outlet (whether private or publicly owned), mostly, the online reportage of suicidal behaviour in Ghana deviates sharply from the international recommended best practice by the WHO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Nii-Boye Quarshie
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.,Centre for Suicide and Violence Research (CSVR), Accra, Ghana
| | - Johnny Andoh-Arthur
- Centre for Suicide and Violence Research (CSVR), Accra, Ghana.,Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | - Kwaku Oppong Asante
- Centre for Suicide and Violence Research (CSVR), Accra, Ghana.,Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.,Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Winifred Asare-Doku
- Centre for Suicide and Violence Research (CSVR), Accra, Ghana.,School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
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Ganesh R, Singh S, Mishra R, Sagar R. The quality of online media reporting of celebrity suicide in India and its association with subsequent online suicide-related search behaviour among general population: An infodemiology study. Asian J Psychiatr 2020; 53:102380. [PMID: 32937236 PMCID: PMC7455521 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The literature reports increased suicide rates among general population in the weeks following the celebrity suicide, known as the Werther effect. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed guidelines for responsible media reporting of suicide. The present study aimed to assess the quality of online media reporting of a recent celebrity suicide in India and its impact on the online suicide related search behaviour of the population. A total of 200 online media reports about Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide published between 14th to 20th June 2020 were assessed for quality of reporting following the checklist prepared using the WHO guidelines. Further, we examined the change in online suicide-seeking and help-seeking search behaviour of the population following celebrity suicide for the month of June using selected keywords. In terms of potentially harmful media reportage, 85.5 % of online reports violated at least one WHO media reporting guideline. In terms of potentially helpful media reportage, only 13 % articles provided information about where to seek help for suicidal thoughts or ideation. There was a significant increase in online suicide-seeking (U = 0.5, p < 0.05) and help-seeking (U = 6.5, p < 0.05) behaviour after the reference event, when compared to baseline. However, the online peak search interest for suicide-seeking was greater than help-seeking. This provides support for a strong Werther effect, possibly associated with poor quality of media reporting of celebrity suicide. There is an urgent need for taking steps to improve the quality of media reporting of suicide in India.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ragul Ganesh
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, 110029, India
| | - Swarndeep Singh
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, 110029, India
| | - Rajan Mishra
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, 110029, India
| | - Rajesh Sagar
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, 110029, India.
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Ramadas S, Kuttichira P. Celebrity Suicide-A Cause for Media Celebration? Analysis of Three Newspaper Reports. Indian J Psychol Med 2020; 42:498-500. [PMID: 33414608 PMCID: PMC7750851 DOI: 10.1177/0253717620950660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
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Chun J, Kim J, Lee S. Fidelity assessment of the suicide reporting guidelines in Korean newspapers. BMC Public Health 2018; 18:1115. [PMID: 30208965 PMCID: PMC6134504 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-018-6014-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND With the dishonor of being the highest suicide rated country in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, South Korea should take more initiatives in suicide prevention. Although the role of the media and its relation to actual suicide attempts has been tested and supported by many studies, the suicide reporting guidelines are not well followed. The purpose of this study is to examine how well Korean newspapers adhere to existing guidelines and to suggest limitation and improvements for the current guidelines. METHODS Five mainstream newspapers in South Korea, namely, Kyunghyang Shinmun, Hankyoreh, Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Daily, and Dong-A Ilbo, were chosen for the analysis. Using the Naver news search engine, articles dated from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2017, were selected with the keyword "suicide" and advanced option "printed newspaper." However, articles, columns, opinions, and reviews that utilized the word "suicide" in a general context were excluded from the final analysis. Finally, the number of cases was narrowed down to 368. Each article was analyzed using the guideline framework consisting of 13 items: sensational coverage, overstatement, direct wording, method used, details about site/location, photographs, suicide note, generalization, speculation, romanticization, interviews with the bereaved, help-seeking information, and public education. RESULTS More than 60% of the articles included direct wording (63.9%), mentioned the method used (68.2%), and provided details about the site or location (74.5%). Nearly half of the articles revealed the contents of the suicide note (44.6%). Less than 3% of the suicide reports had information about hotline logo or phone numbers (1.4%) and facts regarding suicide and suicide prevention (2.2%). CONCLUSIONS Our study revealed that the guidelines were ineffective in their monitoring role and that most of the newspapers were incompliant with many significant guideline items in South Korea. Our findings not only explore the limitations of the current guidelines but also provide an important rationale as to why there should be stronger suicide monitoring regulation or an agency with sufficient authority to prevent suicide in a nation-wide scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- JongSerl Chun
- Department of Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea.
| | - Jinyung Kim
- Department of Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea
| | - Serim Lee
- Department of Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea
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