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Abstract
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The guest editorial, "Media matters in suicide - Indian guidelines on suicide reporting,"[1] made interesting reading. We are happy to note that the Press Council of India (PCI) is planning to initiate guidelines for suicide reporting. This is timely, given the known impact of media reporting on suicides.
In this context, we draw the attention of readers to the position statement and guidelines on the subject issued by the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) and published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry in 2014.[2] This succinct guideline, not cited in the editorial, is the first and only national guideline on media reporting of suicide. Although the emphasis in this guideline is on print media, the recommendations can easily be extrapolated to visual and electronic media. The guideline illustrates the power of the media on suicides through both Werther and Papageno effects. With the burgeoning of technology, the widespread use of gadgets, the younger age at first gadget use, and the privacy with which the gadgets may be used, visual and electronic media may have to be targeted the most in the implementation of the guidelines. These media can particularly be of help for suicide prevention using the principles of the Papageno effect.
The guidelines by the PCI emphasize how suicide should not be reported. The IPS guidelines, in addition, give suggestions for positive reporting, such as utilizing the media to create public awareness of mental illness and to de-stigmatize suicide. The IPS guidelines also make explicit recommendations, such as not to publish suicide notes, which are often breached, perhaps to sensationalize news. The IPS guidelines may be more specific to the Indian context vis-a-vis the broad WHO guidelines based on which PCI formulated its guidelines. The IPS guidelines, therefore, complement and supplement the PCI guidelines. The joint efforts of the PCI and the IPS would, therefore, enhance the quality of media reporting of suicide...
Language: en |