Throughout February the Australian media displayed examples of best and worst practice when reporting on the death of Charlotte Dawson.
Reporting on suicide requires careful attention-to-detail from journalists, producers and editors.
Journalists need to consider industry standards and guidelines, including the Mindframe Media Guidelines and the Australian Press Council’s Reporting Standards.
Cases involving celebrities also carry a risk to the audience; blanket media coverage may upset some people and have the potential to instigate ‘copycats’ or suicide contagion.
Many of the initial ‘breaking news’ reports on Ms Dawson’s death displayed best practice – avoiding suicide method, location and irresponsible or offensive language – however StigmaWatchers felt some of the follow-up ‘commentary’ failed to show similar consideration.
SANE StigmaWatch received many reports from the public, with the two of the most common referring to a column on Fairfax Online and a Sydney Morning Herald ‘Lifestyle’ piece.
Both articles were considered highly offensive by StigmaWatchers because the authors were critical of Dawson, accusing her of craving attention and questioning her decision to fight online critics.
One StigmaWatcher said: ‘diagnosing the causes of a person's suicide, and then trivialising those reasons is highly inappropriate'.