Reporting On Suicide
April 5, 2019 6:17AM PDT
Thirty newspapers and TV stations in Oregon are challenging the practice of not covering suicides. There is a belief that reporting on suicide may inspire others to take their own lives. We talk about the best way to cover suicides all the time in the KXL newsroom.
Starting Sunday, news outlets will take part in a “Breaking The Silence” project. They will report on the impact suicides have on our society and how people can get help. The national suicide rate has hit a 50-year high. In Oregon, the suicide rate is 40% higher than the national average.
What do you think? Does reporting on suicide make the problem worse? Or, does reporting on it remind people that there is help out there?
