MEDIA COVERAGE of deaths by suicide is impossible to predict and frequently highly controversial, press ombudsman John Horgan said at the weekend.
Prof Horgan said most deaths from road crashes were frequently given national news coverage but while there were a similar number of deaths by suicide, they were not routinely reported.
“There are still observable elements of social stigma surrounding the reporting of suicide,” he said.
“Not only are all deaths by suicide not reported, there is no clear rationale for why some deaths by suicide are reported in the media and others are not,” he said.
Prof Horgan described the reporting of suicide as “a bit of a lottery” which could be influenced by chance, by social class, local alliances and commercial or political pressures. It could also be influenced by “an old-fashioned desire and not unworthy desire, on the part of editors and journalists, not to exacerbate the grief of already distraught families and friends”.
The Press Ombudsman was speaking at the annual conference of the Coroners’ Society of Ireland in Naas on Saturday.
He said news of death by suicide was spread on the internet by friends and acquaintances “at a speed that leaves the traditional media gasping in their wake” and this was part of the reason why the media felt they could not ignore it.
There was a real, human concern among journalists about suicide, Prof Horgan said, and the reporting of suicide was frequently different from what used to happen. Helpline information was often published and other positive initiatives were used.
He told the coroners that the potential for trauma was great at inquests following a suicide.
