|
Abstract
|
Background and Objectives: Irresponsible reporting by media has got the potential of leading people to imitative suicidal behavior. The present study aimed to determine the frequency of suicide news published in Iranian national newspapers and news agencies during 2018 and its compliance with the printing guidelines for suicide news in the media.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study, according to the criteria mentioned in the media guidelines based on suicide reports, all information on printing suicide news of 9 national newspapers and 6 national news agencies during 2018was collected. The data of each news item was entered in the prepared checklist (from the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2000 and the guide for reflecting news of suicide in the media in Iran in 2007) and was analyzed using the SPSS software version 21.
Results: During the one-year assessing period, 256 suicidal news reports were published by each of the selected national newspapers and news agencies. Keyhan newspaper with an average of 10.88 and a standard deviation of 1.53 and Mehr News Agency with an average of 10.52 and a standard deviation of 0.71 had the highest scores of conformity. Respectively, 14.3%, 17.2%, and 26.6% of newspapers and news agencies avoided publishing the word "suicide" in their headlines, detailed suicide methods, and exciting news report and magnification of suicide. Moreover, 1.8% of Newspapers and news agencies referred to suicide prevention methods, and this difference was statistically significant.
Conclusion: Suicide report is somewhat irresponsible in Iran. Efforts should be made to ensure that the media staff receives the necessary training in this context. Besides, more monitoring from media monitoring organizations and editors is of great need. Training should be accomplished using an active approach and be part of the curriculum for journalists and editors.
Keywords: Media reports, Suicide, Instructions, Monitoring, Quality
Language: en |