Mental Health Risks for Journalists Covering Suicide in Times of Crisis

According to the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), over one in every 100 deaths (1.3%) in 2019 was the result of suicide, yet suicide is a highly sensitive issue in the media and often a taboo. The field of communication research has very early recognized the relevance of coverage of suicide. One of the first manuals on journalistic work in 1925 elaborated on newsworthiness of suicide reporting. This paper draws on experiences of journalists who covered suicide cases during multiple crises. There is evidence that an interview is the most appropriate practice to research sensitive topics; thus, expert interviews and episodically ethnographic interviews inform this study. Additional data was collected for analysis during (participatory) observations. The presented article is an outcome of 29 interviews with journalists and mental health professionals in Greece, Spain and Bulgaria. In total, 36 h of interviews and 20 observation protocols were collected during 8 field trips and 5 weeks in total in the field. Most of the data refers to the financial crisis of 2015 and 2016—a period when suicide rates significantly increased. However, selected interviewees were interviewed again after 7–8 years during the post-pandemic time, brutal wars and the substantial cost of living crisis. Journalists who usually give a voice and platform to suicide survivors speak their own perspective and evaluate the impact it had on their mental health and well-being.