Covering Teen Suicide

1. Ask yourself if the suicide is newsworthy. Suicide is a common cause of death. Indeed, suicide is the third greatest agent of teenage death — trailing only automobile accidents and homicide. However, unlike automobile accidents and and homicide, suicide is a conscious act. Before writing a story about a teen suicide, ask yourself if what you write could aide in alleviating classmates' grief, or if it could potentially add to it.
2. Don't portray a suicide death as a mysterious act by an otherwise “healthy” or “high achieving” person. Ninety percent of victims have a significant psychiatric illness at the time of their death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
3. Avoid providing a detailed description of method and site. According to child psychiatrist Madelyn Gould, this is like providing an “instruction manual to those who may be susceptible to committing suicide” and may mimic the manner in which the victim took their life.
4. Try to oversee headlines. Some responsibly written stories are spoiled by sensational and inappropriate headlines. Avoid using the term “suicide” in the headline when possible.
5. Do not portray suicide in a romantic or heroic way.
6. Exercise care when including pictures of the victim or grieving relatives and friends to avoid over-identification with the victim and the glorification of death to readers or viewers who are themselves vulnerable.
7. Limit the prominence, length and number of stories about a particular suicide. Avoid front-page coverage.
8. Do not present suicide as a reasonable way of solving a problem.
9. If you do cover a suicide death, explain that suicide is most often the fatal complication of multiple types of mental illness, most of which can be treated. Include contact information for your school's counselor or health center, and include the number to a 24-hour suicide prevention hot line.

Includes information from Suicide and the Media by Dr. Madelyn S. Gould