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BY PAULINE MIE R. RAPANUT PHOTOS BY LITO OCAMPO
Suicides, like all tragic events, raise problematic questions for journalists. They are naturally drawn to inquire into events that differ sharply from the norm. Reporters ask questions about the dead person, the situation that may have led to the fatal ending, the factors that may tell a larger story. Death, however much a fact of life, remains startling, something that intrudes into ordinary experience. Death is always a noteworthy moment. But not all deaths are newsworthy. Suicide is different from other deaths. Its inherent drama attracts news attention. Continue to page 44
There was a surplus of reports on the protests of students and other groups insinuating that UP should answer for the suicide of Kristel. Interviews with the family uncovered other reasons that may have caused her to take her own life. Her parents admitted they frequently had fights over lack of money, but they insisted that the forced leave of absence was the real reason behind their daughters suicide. Other sources said the thought of not being able to go to school depressed Kristel the most. In response to the reports, UP announced that late payment and non-payment of school fees would no longer force students to withdraw their enrolment. Kristels father, Christopher Tejada, told media that perhaps his daughter was happy now that the policy had been lifted and that she had helped other students. More recently, the media relied on actual video footage to tell the story. Last May 8, a man committed suicide at the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Guadalupe station. Television news reports aired the MRT CCTV or closed circuit television footage of the actual suicide. The method and location of the suicide were clearly evident from the video. The reports detailed what would be obvious about the condition of the suicides body: He was pinned under the train wheels, his body was crushed, his internal organs were exposed. An anchorperson commented Pwede bang uminom na lang ng lason (Why not just drink poison)? Two other suicides were recorded on CCTV. A woman jumped on the tracks at the MRT Shaw Boulevard Station last January 3. Another took her life at the Light Rail Transit EDSA station on Aug. 30, 2012. Reports on the two cases were equally callous and careless.
COMPLEX AND COMPLICATED Suicide is a complex issue that should be reported carefully. In its Suicide Prevention Guidelines, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns journalists against assigning blame and giving the public simplistic reasons for a suicide. In the coverage of Kristels death, the media participated in the blame game and attributed the suicide to a single factor. Usually there are complex and complicated reasons for suicide. In reporting suicide, there should be a balance between the medias task of delivering information to the public and its responsibility to minimize harm. However, the media often opt for the former at the cost of the latter. Gory details about the condition of the body are as offensive as private details of the suicides personal life. Some details are often not relevant at all to the basic public need for information and are better left unsaid. Kristels suicide note was published even if it did not provide any explanation for her decision to take her life; she did not mention her enforced leave from school. The medias conclusion that this was the reason was not supported by the letter. The publication of the letter was therefore an intrusion into the privacy to which even the dead was still entitled. And the speculation, based on interviews with family members, should have been presented as mere speculation. The WHO has noted that details of the method or the location a suicide victim uses may lead to copycat suicides. A reporter should not risk providing another person considering suicide with the details of how it can be achieved.
MEDIA IMPACT ME W WHOs suicide prevention resource for media professionals c concurs: Television inluences suicidal behaviour. There is an increase in suicide up to ten days after television news reports of cases of suicide. As in the print media, highly publicized stories that appear in multiple programs on multiple channels seem to carry the greatest impact. According to Dr. Dinah Nadera, fellow of the Philippine Psychiatric Association and acting executive director of the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation, a non-proit organization dedicated to bringing depression to light, there has been an increase in the calls they receive after media coverage of suicide. Media contribute to awareness of suicide, positively and negatively. Nadera recalled several instances in which suicide coverage was repeatedly run on TV and radio. The reports often pointed to a single cause and put the blame on r someone or something. Some reports took advantage of the so familys grief and even hailed the act of suicide as heroic. The fam suicide, hence, is not seen in the right context. sui Nadera warns the media not to feed people with stories N that are not helpful to those who may have been encountering tha similar situations. In an article entitled Suicide in the sim Philippines: A Second Look at the Rates and Ratios, Nadera Phi said that there is a general perception of an increasing trend in suicide rate based on suicide reports from print and broadcast media, although there is no actual data to definitely establish the connection. EDITORIAL POLICIES The SANE Media Centres Mindframe Guidelines for Media Reporting of Suicide suggests that media handlers consider whether the story needs to be run at all. If the report is not in good taste, editors have the prerogative to publish the story or not. Media organizations in the Philippines have their respective policies on reporting events. However, only a few have specific guidelines for reporting suicide. While the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas and ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs have guidelines in interviewing victims and injured or bereaved persons, they have no standards exclusive to suicide reporting. To their credit, the Inquirer and GMA News and Public Affairs have included in their ethics manuals rules on covering suicide. The Inquirers The Stylebook notes that in reporting suicides and deaths, Newspapers have to be compassionate; they have to question the need to report suicides in all cases, particularly when the suicide is not a public oficial or public igure. The GMA News and Public Affairs Ethics and Editorial Manual (2011) offers a more detailed set of rules. It suggests that: Suicides must be reported sensitively and only when newsworthy, such as when the deceased is a public igure. Since suicide reporting has been found to occasionally lead to more suicides, our stories must avoid discussing details of the method, speculating on the motive, or implying that it was a solution to the
individuals problem, unless these are a central part of the story. Reporters are urged to obtain the opinion of experts who can give the public advice about mental illnesses or conditions that can lead to suicide. News programs are encouraged to air the contact information of hotlines and other ways the mentally ill can seek help. However, the existence of reporting guidelines in news organizations does not guarantee that the reporters will abide by their own ethics manual. In fact, there are no existing national guidelines for media reporting of suicide. According to Nadera, one of the major barriers in creating a national suicide prevention plan is the lack of factual data to prove the magnitude of the problem and to support the need for funding and programs. Hence, it is important that the media work hand in hand with mental health organizations to provide responsible and sensitive reports that can help people understand the problems of depression and suicide. The Natasha Goulbourn Foundation recommends that the media also feature people who survived suicide and are leading meaningful lives, who can talk about options for help-seeking, and who can help raise awareness and provide communication that can inluence policy-makers on improving the mental wellbeing of the population. The media, being powerful and pervasive, can play a big role in raising awareness on suicide as a public health issue. By providing relevant information that can help the public especially those who are contemplating suicide, the media can actually help discourage suicide. In the end, however, the responsibilities inherent in reporting suicide are simple enough. Theyre based on the fundamental human and journalistic responsibility of minimizing harm rather than adding to it.
The following organizations provide assistance to people in distress, who are depressed, and/or are contemplating suicide: Natasha Goulbourn Foundation 24/7 HOPELINE Tel (632) 804-4673; (63) 917 558-4673; (63) 917 572-4673 In Touch Community Services Crisis Line Philippines Tel (632) 893-7606; (632) 893-7603