Do newspaper reports of suicides comply with standard suicide reporting guidelines? A study from Bangalore, India

摘要

Aim: This study aimed at assessing newspaper reports of suicide for quality of reporting based on standard reportingguidelines and to study differences between English and vernacular (Kannada) newspapers in Bangalore, South India.Background: Several countries have prescribed standard guidelines for media professionals on suicide reporting.However, the implementation of these guidelines has been varied. Suicide rates in South Asia are one of the highest inthe world, and it is known that media guidelines for suicide reporting are not followed adequately. However, there areno published reports available from this region.Methods: A total of 341 newspaper reports of suicide from 550 newspapers (3 English and 3 Kannada) over 3 monthswere systematically assessed for compliance with reporting guidelines. Each report was evaluated on 2 domains and 36parameters. Data were analyzed for frequency of inappropriate reporting and patterns compared between vernacularand English newspapers.Results: In all, 87% of the reports were those of completed suicide. Non-compliant reporting - method of suicide wasreported in 89% and 32% of reports were in prominent pages of the newspaper, 95% mentioned gender, 90% reportedthe name, 80% reported age and suicide location, 75% reported life events related to suicide, 70% reported occupation,69% had headline explicity on suicide and 61% reported monocausality. Only 16% reported mental disorder related tosuicide, and less than 3% included information on suicide prevention and helplines. Vernacular papers showed significantlybetter compliance in 16 of the 20 areas. However, protective characteristics were better reported in English newspapers.Conclusion: Majority of reports on suicides in newspapers from Bangalore did not comply with standard guidelines ofreporting. There is a strong need to evolve local guidelines and mechanisms for ensuring responsible reporting whichhave important implications in prevention of suicide.