News Coverage of Suicide in Prominent Digital Newspapers in Spain. Keys to Reporting Suicide as a Prevention Tool
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5294/pacla.2024.27.3.1Keywords:
Communication, mass media, prevention, mental health, suicideAbstract
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been claiming the fundamental role of the media in suicide prevention for more than two decades. Consequently, various manuals with recommendations for suicide coverage in the media have been prepared worldwide. However, it is a topic that journalists continue to avoid, partly by trying to adhere to the guidelines in their style books and ethical codes. This work aims to discuss the reporting of news about suicide in the leading print media in Spain (El País, ABC, El Mundo, La Vanguardia, and El Confidencial) based on WHO recommendations and the Spanish Ministry of Health’s Suicide Reporting Manual for Media. For this, 451 journalistic pieces were analyzed. The main results indicate that more than half of the pieces detail the method and place, with a minority including help resources. From all of this, we can draw the need to train communication professionals in the adequate use of data on suicide and to review manuals and guides already available to respond to media and social demands, thereby raising awareness among the population on this and other socially relevant issues that need the media’s push and support. The form and content of suicide news can have preventive and educational effects.
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Copyright (c) 2024 María Pilar Martín Chaparro, Carmen Castelo Blasco, Guillermo Córdoba Santos
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