Predicting Sensationalism in Suicide Story Headlines.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Hogrefe Country of Publication: Canada NLM ID: 8218602 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2151-2396 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 02275910 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Crisis Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: Toronto : Hogrefe
      Original Publication: Toronto, Canada : C.J. Hogrefe, c1980-
    • Subject Terms:
      Suicide*/psychology ; Newspapers as Topic*; Humans ; United States ; Famous Persons ; Mass Media ; Guideline Adherence
    • Abstract:
      Objective: Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, and media publicity plays a role in suicide rates. The United States offers guidelines for the reporting of suicide. This study evaluated guideline adherence in newspaper and newswire publications covering celebrity suicide deaths. The research also assessed whether the sensationalism of article headlines could be predicted by variables reflecting nonadherent reporting. Method: Publications from 2013 to 2018 reporting on nine celebrity suicides were evaluated via content analysis. Adherence was assessed in a two-step hierarchical linear regression to determine which variables predicted sensationalism in headlines. Results: Overall adherence to reporting guidelines was moderate. Newspaper disclosure of suicide method only, suicide method and location, and note contents significantly predicted headline sensationalism in the first regression model, R 2 = 22%. The sensationalism in the body of the article and other variables additionally predicted headline sensationalism in the second regression model, R 2 = 55%. Limitations : This study is limited to celebrity suicide reporting and may not reflect media reporting trends of noncelebrity suicide deaths. Conclusion : Findings reveal that sensationalism in the body of the article and other variables uniquely contributed to sensationalism in newspaper headlines. This suggests that the public could be at risk for reading harmful content not consistent with reporting recommendations about suicide because of the initial attraction to sensational headlines.
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: content analysis; recommended guidelines for media reporting of suicide; suicide; suicide and media; suicide risk
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20240206 Date Completed: 20240814 Latest Revision: 20240814
    • Publication Date:
      20240814
    • Accession Number:
      10.1027/0227-5910/a000943
    • Accession Number:
      38317585