Home SPRC > Media

Scope Note: Guidelines for reporting on suicide, information on fighting stigma in the media, and audio-visual materials on suicide.

Adding power to our voices: A framing guide for communicating about injury
URL: http://www.cdc.gov/injury/CDCFramingGuide-a.pdf
Includes framing theory, message development techniques and vehicles for explaining public health statistics.
Show Details
 
At-a-Glance: Safe reporting on suicide
URL: http://www.sprc.org/library/at_a_glance.pdf
A two page summary of the 2001 publication, Reporting on Suicide: Recommendations for the Media, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Mental Health, Office of the Surgeon General, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Association of Suicidology and Annenberg Public Policy Center
Show Details
 
Copycats and social contagion
URL: http://www.samaritans.org/media_centre/copycats.aspx
Summary of research related to media reporting and suicide contagion.
Show Details
 
Entertainment education: Suicide among youth
URL: http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/entertainment_education/tips/suicide.htm
From the Entertainment Education section of Communications at CDC. This fact sheet about how to cover the topic of youth suicide is written for TV writers and producers.
Show Details
 
Fight Stigma: Become A StigmaBuster!
URL: http://www.nami.org/TextTemplate.cfm?Section=Fight_Stigma&Template=/ContentManagement/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=8487
NAMI StigmaBusters is a group of dedicated advocates across the country and around the world who seek to fight the inaccurate, hurtful representations of mental illness.
Show Details
 
Guide to engaging the media in suicide prevention
URL: http://www.sprc.org/library/media_guide.pdf
This 44-page guide teaches you how to serve as an effective media spokesperson and how to generate media coverage to create awareness of suicide prevention. The publication describes how to use television, radio, and print media and provides examples of press releases, media advisories, pitch letters, op-eds and more. It also gives tips for identifying appropriate media outlets, creating up-to-date media lists, and tracking your results.
Show Details
 
Impact and value: Telling your program's story
URL: http://www.cdc.gov/Oralhealth/publications/library/pdf/success_story_workbook.pdf
The purpose of this workbook is to help public health program administrators understand what a “success story” is, why it is important to tell success stories, and how to develop success stories.
Show Details
 
Media (SPRC Customized Information Series)
URL: http://www.sprc.org/featured_resources/customized/media.asp
Information for the media on recognizing and responding to warning signs, resource materials about suicide prevention, including programs and the role of media professionals in preventing suicides.
Show Details
 
Media guidelines
URL: http://www.samaritans.org/media_centre/media_guidelines.aspx
Guidelines from the UK for the media on how to cover the topic of suicide. Includes 2008 Media Guidelines for the UK and 2009 Media Guidelines for Ireland.
Show Details
 
Media guidelines for school administrators who may interact with reporters about youth suicide
URL: http://www.maine.gov/suicide/professionals/program/mediaschool.htm
This brief manual explores how media accounts can actually serve as a suicide prevention tool by: assisting news professionals to report responsibly and accurately; using a media request for information as an opportunity to influence the contents of the story; emphasizing the importance of listing available community resources for individuals at-risk and describing what is being done to promote safety for vulnerable individuals in the aftermath of a suicide; and warning against the aspects of news coverage that may promote copycat suicides.
Show Details
 
Mental illness and suicide: A Mindframe resource for stage and screen [Australia]
URL: http://www.mindframe-media.info/client_images/363853.pdf
This resource provides practical advice and information for people involved in the development of Australian film, television and theatre. It is designed to help inform truthful and authentic portrayals of mental illness and suicide.
Show Details
 
Mindframe media [Australia]
URL: http://www.mindframe-media.info/about/index.php
Australia's media guidelines and accompanying website on reporting on suicide and mental illness.
Show Details
 
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Media outreach toolkit
URL: http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/campaign/kit/default.aspx
This toolkit provides you with everything you need to raise awareness of the Lifeline in the near term, and to conduct a successful campaign during major mental health events, such as National Suicide Prevention Week (September) and National Mental Health Awareness Month (May).
Show Details
 
Picture this: Depression and suicide prevention
URL: http://eiconline.org/resources/publications/z_picturethis/Desorder.pdf
Picture This is a guide for creators in the entertainment industry which addresses issues within the realm of depression and suicide prevention, as identified by mental health experts, advocates, policy-makers, and others working to improve public awareness about and reduce instances of depression and suicide.
Show Details
 
Recommended videos on suicide prevention by AAS
URL: http://www.suicidology.org/web/guest/stats-and-tools/videos
The American Association of Suicidology’s recommended list of videos is compiled by an evaluation committee that reviews videos for different audiences according to specific criteria. A short description of the video is included, along with duration and ordering information.
Show Details
 
Reporting on suicide: Recommendations for the media
URL: http://www.sprc.org/library/sreporting.pdf
These unified recommendations for reporting on suicide were developed at a consensus workshop co-sponsored by Annenberg Public Policy Center and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Workshop participants also included the American Association of Suicidology, Office of the Surgeon General, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Ser­vices Administration, World Health Organization, National Swedish Centre for Suicide Research and New Zealand Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy.
Show Details
 
Stigma watch
URL: http://www1.nmha.org/newsroom/stigma/index.cfm
The National Mental Health Association’s Stigma Watch program tracks news and entertainment coverage of mental health issues for fairness and accuracy, with the goal of correcting and preventing stigmatizing advertising, television and radio programming, and print features. A form to report stigmas is available on this web site. Usually, NMHA responds to these events by contacting the offending organization or sponsors by phone and correspondence. Depending on the incident, NMHA will develop a more targeted strategy to seek the discontinuance of the ad or program.
Show Details
 
Suicide contagion
URL: http://suicideandmentalhealthassociationinternational.org/suiconclust.html
This article defines the terminology of suicide contagion and answers basic questions about the phenomena of suicide clusters.
Show Details
 
Suicide contagion and the reporting of suicide: Recommendations from a national workshop
URL: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00031539.htm
From Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, April 22, 1994 / 43(RR-6);9-18. In November 1989, a national workshop that included suicidologists, public health officials, researchers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and news media professionals was held to address general concerns about, and specific recommendations for, reducing the possibility of media-related suicide contagion. These recommendations, which are endorsed by CDC, outline general issues that public officials and health and media professionals should consider when reporting about suicide. These recommendations include a depiction of those aspects of news coverage that can promote suicide contagion, and they describe ways by which community efforts to address this problem can be strengthened through specific types of news coverage
Show Details
 
Suicidology listserv
URL: http://listserve.apa.org/archives/suicidology.html
This is a moderated discussion list of the American Association of Suicidology, which has a searchable archive from October 1997 to the present.
Show Details