Media Reporting of Suicide in the Bengaluru E-Edition of Three Major Indian Dailies: An Archival Study

ABSTRACT

India has the world’s largest newspaper market, with over 100 million copies sold daily. The media scapegoat, simplify, speculate, and sensationalize suicide?related news instead of signposting people to seek help. Suicide affects individuals, families, and communities and is worthy of responsible reporting. This study examined the quality of newspaper coverage of suicides from January to December 2017 in three popular English dailies in Bengaluru, South India. Three hundred and ninety?five online suicide reports were evaluated for compliance with the 2017 WHO recommendations for responsible suicide reporting by media professionals. The secondary data were obtained from digital newspaper archives and analyzed. Ahandful of the sampled articles met key recommendations. While reporting on suicide in the Indian media, three critical areas that require the most attention are reducing sensationalism, providing help-seeking information, and educating the public on suicide prevention without perpetuating myths.