Given the recent suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, there’s been some discussion in media circles as to how to report on such tragedies in a responsible way. There’s concern that sensationalistic reporting on these deaths can have a “contagious” effect on vulnerable people.
Would it be better not to state the suicide method at all?
I am not sure. I think a suicidal a person already knows how they would do it. It is often romanticized in young persons. So maybe the gory details would make them stop and think. Myself? I’d rather not know how
I think presenting the facts always is a better default option, unless there’s a clear reason not to. And I’m not going to trust any authority that’s deciding ahead of time for me that all suicides need to have their method of suicide concealed ‘for the general good’.
Professionally I deal with suicides on a very regular basis, at least 3 or 4 times a year, sometimes up to a dozen a year. Knowing how the general public is committing suicide gives me useful info about what my special section of the population may or may not do.
This
This subject of suicide needs to be talked about more. I have a plan to talk to my kids and close friends about it.
Yes.
There are some fairly obvious problems with any policy that boils down to “Certain truths must not be spoken.”
There are journalistic guidelines on how to report suicides, developed by groups for mental health, suicide prevention, the CDC and others. You can find one set of guidelines here.
One thing that it says is “Risk of additional suicides increases when the story explicitly describes the suicide method, uses dramatic/graphic headlines or images, and repeated/extensive coverage sensationalizes or glamorizes a death.” It sounds like explicitly describing the method is bad, I’m not sure if saying simply what the method was is ok, but I would err on the side of caution and report less rather than more about any details like that.
A lot of suicide is impulsive. Not all suicide is from chronic depression and constant suicidal ideation. A lot is someone is having an abnormally bad day, and then the idea of suicide gets in their head, and then they either try it, or the idea passes and things get better for them and they never go on to do it. That’s why thinks like suicide barriers on bridges work. And that’s why gun control could help reduce the suicide rate. From the article:
Newsworthy suicides should be reported. But guidelines should be followed on how.
I don’t think it’s that certain things need to be not spoken, but that maybe certain details don’t need to be shared with everyone. If a celebrity died from natural causes, then it’s sufficient to say they died at home from cancer or whatever surrounded by friends and family, I don’t need to hear about how many drugs they were on and if they had a colostomy bag or how much they’d been vomiting or any of those grisly details.
There are limits. I don’t want explicit details of a crime victim’s injuries, a how-to on making a bomb, or a list of addresses that are likely empty of inhabitants that might have something worth stealing. Someone might argue that not revealing each of those things is declaring that “certain truths must not be spoken” but I think I would view it as “certain truths are not the public’s business.”
I voted “yes”, but I imagine there might be some times when they don’t. Generally, though, I think that:
The facts of a story should be reported. If you don’t say how someone committed suicide, you make it even more of an issue since humans are naturally curious about such things.
In this day and age, someone is going to report it. The idea of suppressing info in the public domain is a quaint idea, but something that makes little sense in the 21st century.
Sadly many people in Modern Society like true crime, details of suicides, and Horror movies. That is a part of moral degradation of society.
That has been typical societal behavior since the beginnings of human society. If anything, we’re more sensitive to the horror and violence now than we were back when public executions brought whole families out, complete with picnic lunches, to observe the spectacle.
Check out Hardcore History’s Painfotainment episode to learn more.
Sad but true.
There is also a question of whether a death was a suicide or an accident. So if law enforcement says Celebrity X committed suicide–but it was via Fentanyl, some of us may have our doubts.
Along with what John Mace said, I think the proper approach is to “vaccinate” the situation by providing the bare-minimum details in such a way that satisfy the public’s curiosity as to how something happened, but not go further. For instance, “John Doe Celebrity took his life by hanging himself in his bedroom last night.” That way it covers all the questions. If you deliberately refrain from publishing any details about how the suicide happened, society abhors an information vacuum and it’s an open invitation for salacious people to provide a much more lurid account.
One way or another, details will emerge - factual or not. You’re better off preempting it.
But even then…I’m reminded of how the Pentagon refused to provide photos of bin Laden’s body, and then that led to a rumor that SEALs had sprayed his body with dozens or hundreds of bullets instead of just two.
At first I was wondering in Boudain’s case, how they could say with certainty that it wasn’t accidental. Then they came out with the details and I knew for sure.
Really unsure. I personally doubt there are as many copy-cats as some people fear but if there is some chance maybe its worth withholding the exact details.
Yes. It is the first thing I ask about when I hear so-and-so died. How? Then how old? beyond that, I don’t usually care.
I think consideration should be given to the family’s wishes, particularly if children are involved. Perhaps it should be required that the press obtain written consent from next of kin before publishing explicit details of suicidal death. It’s horrible enough for a child to have to deal with the loss of a parent, but it’s unconscionable to potentially supply the school bully with the ammo to torment that kid with something like, “hey nerd, I heard your old man blew his head off with a shotgun.”
*
I also think the wishes of those who commit suicide should be honored. If you don’t want details of your death published for whatever reason, you should be allowed to request that in your suicide note (e.g. “I do not grant permission to publish details of my death.”*) and have it enforceable.
Frankly, I’m more afraid of having details of an embarrassing accidental death published in the local paper. I mean, I wouldn’t mind if my obituary read something like,* “… seeing the threatening situation unfold, Tibby immediately scaled the compound wall and successfully extricated the trapped kindergarten class from certain death by the bloodthirsty pride of lions that were closing in on the hapless children. Onlookers were aghast, yet amazed by the carnage. ‘That brave dude used his own gnawed off leg to beat back those big cats! He would have made it out alive too, if those Siberian tigers and grizzly bears didn’t get involved!’”
*
But, I would not want something like this published, “… Tibby’s naked body was discovered in the bathroom by his former housemate, circus performer, Crappy the Clown. His head was submerged in the un-flushed toilet bowl. Cause of death has yet to be determined, but a large sledgehammer and banana peel were discovered next to the bowl. When interrogated by police who asked why he and 11 other clowns were at Tibby’s residence, Crappy replied, ‘ah…uh…um…oh, because I wanted to pay him the back rent I owed…yeah, that’s the reason.’ He then spritzed the officer in the face with a trick lapel flower and sped off in a tiny car with the other clowns. No foul play is suspected.”
I don’t see a problem with reporting that a person committed suicide.
The way it’s performed should be reported. If, it can be stated without exploiting the person.
Jack shoved his head in the toilet and drowned. TMI and exploitive.
Jack - cause of death, suicide by drowning would be more respectful.
David Carradine was exploited. Imho
Death by hanging would have be sufficient.
The other details didn’t need to come out.