# Third Rails in American Journalism

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-rails-in-american-journalism/827865>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 16, 2019, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-rails-in-american-journalism/827865 "2019-01-16T14:36:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-rails-in-american-journalism/827865/21 "2019-01-24T20:19:03Z")

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How about suicide? I understand most journalists don’t like to report about suicide among ordinary people because it might encourage copycats. Even among famous people, sometimes it doesn’t get mentioned prominently. It took forever for someone to mention that Keith Emerson’s death was by suicide, for example.

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-rails-in-american-journalism/827865/22 "2019-01-24T22:54:17Z")

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> [@dalej42](#):
>
> How about suicide? I understand most journalists don’t like to report about suicide among ordinary people because it might encourage copycats. Even among famous people, sometimes it doesn’t get mentioned prominently. It took forever for someone to mention that Keith Emerson’s death was by suicide, for example.

“Suicide” is a difficult call unless the medical examiner actually rules a death to be suicide, or there’s a note, or something like that. Kate Spade was found hanged, left a note, and the medical examiner _still_ took three days to declare it a suicide. On the other hand, David Carradine was found hanged, and _two_ autopsies determined that it was an accidental death, not a suicide. Drug overdoses are even a harder call.

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-rails-in-american-journalism/827865/23 "2019-01-24T23:02:11Z")

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> [@AK84](#):
>
> Saying anything pro-Palestinian.

You mean, apart from routine coverage of things like wall protests and Gaza poverty? Or [op-eds](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/19/opinion/sunday/martin-luther-king-palestine-israel.html?module=inline) which favor the Palestinian cause?

If that’s a “third rail”, few seem to mind the shocks.

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-rails-in-american-journalism/827865/24 "2019-01-25T05:31:26Z")

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> [@TSBG](#):
>
> Chelsea Clinton knows whereof she speaks–Rush Limbaugh compared her to a dog when she was 12.

I still have my “LEAVE CHELSEA ALONE!” t-shirt.

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