Assessing the Quality of Media Reporting of Suicide News in Kerala, India

Background: Suicide is a growing public health concern in India, with Kerala being one of the states with the highest suicide rates. Responsible media reporting is a crucial population-level suicide prevention strategy. However, the quality of suicide reporting in newspapers remains a concern. Aim: To assess the quality of newspaper reports of suicide in Kerala, India, against the World Health Organization (WHO) media guidelines for reporting suicide. Method: Content analysis of suicide reports published by the 11 most widely circulated Malayalam daily newspapers in Kerala, between June and November 2023. Results: A total of 1,068 suicide news reports were analyzed. Harmful reporting practices, such as reporting the method used (90.9%), mentioning negative life events (36.8%), stating the method in headlines (46.7%), and using photographs of the deceased (69.9%), were common, while helpful practices, such as providing contact details of helplines (0.7%), were rare. Limitations: The study is limited to print newspaper reports and does not examine suicide reporting in other media formats. Additionally, it focuses only on Malayalam newspapers in Kerala. Conclusion: The study highlights a low level of adherence to WHO guidelines indicating the need for effective dissemination of the guidelines and training of media professionals.