Why Do We Report Suicides and How Can We Facilitate Suicide Prevention Efforts?

BACKGROUND: The Hong Kong news media report suicide-related events more frequently and sensationally than Western countries. Little is known about Hong Kong media professionals' experiences and thoughts about such reporting. AIMS: To understand Hong Kong media professionals' experiences and perceptions of suicide reporting and whether the news media can be better engaged into suicide prevention. METHOD: We conducted three focus groups of journalists from both the Cantonese and English language news media. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methods. RESULTS: We discerned three rationales from participants regarding their intense coverage of suicide-related events: (1) satisfying commercial competitiveness, (2) addressing social problems, and (3) responding to readers' interests. The first rationale was a dominant and vigorous motivating factor, and often influenced suicide reporting among local Cantonese media. Media professionals recommended engagement strategies targeted at frontline journalists, media managers, and general media consumers. CONCLUSION: We see potential to involve news media professionals in Hong Kong as working partners in suicide prevention. To succeed, this effort requires engagement in a proactive, consistent, and sustained fashion.