Self-poisoning, hanging, drowning, or just dying: journalistic adherence to suicide reporting guidelines when suicide is a crime

Research suggests copycat incidents often follow news about suicides, which is why the WHO has created suicide news coverage guidelines. These guidelines, however, are rarely followed. Drawing on the social-responsibility-of-the-press theoretical framework, this quantitative content analysis focused on online news about suicide in Nigeria, the fourth largest economy in Africa, and one of two dozen countries where attempting suicide remains a crime. The results showed that local journalists reporting on suicides in Nigeria followed the WHO guidelines less frequently than the authors of suicide stories in other countries, which are typically sourced from global newswires. Almost all stories about Nigeria-based suicides described the suicide method as opposed to a minimal number of stories about non-local suicides. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.