Newspaper Adherence to Media Reporting Guidelines for the Suicide Deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain

Arielle H. Sheftall,Jaclyn L. Tissue,Nerissa Young,Jack H. Stevens,Jonathan B. Singer,John P. Ackerman,Paige Schlagbaum

doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.14517

Abstract

This cross-sectional study examines newspaper adherence to reporting guidelines for suicide after the deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain.

Highlights

News media coverage of suicide is associated with an increased risk of subsequent suicides, with the strongest associations following newspaper reporting of celebrity suicides.[1]
Washington Post reporting on the suicide death of Kate Spade (8.0 [1.4] vs 6.8 [1.1]; mean difference = 1.2; 95% CI, 0.14-2.26; 14 t9 = 2.57; P = .03)
Newspapers adhered to a mean (SD) of 7.4 (1.4) of 14 specific guidelines; none reached the threshold for high fidelity

Summary

Introduction

News media coverage of suicide is associated with an increased risk of subsequent suicides, with the strongest associations following newspaper reporting of celebrity suicides.[1] To reduce these adverse effects, media guidelines were established for reporting on suicide in 20012; adherence varies, and research shows many media outlets are unaware that such guidelines exist.[3]. On June 5, 2018, Kate Spade died by suicide, and on June 8, 2018, Anthony Bourdain died by suicide. These events provided an opportunity to examine newspaper adherence to reporting guidelines. Because much criticism followed the reporting on Spade’s death,[4] we hypothesized that the reporting on Bourdain’s death would be more guideline adherent.

Methods

Results

Conclusion