New editions of journalist-to-journalist mental health reporting guides take suicide recommendations to a new level Français
LONDON, ON, Nov. 30, 2020 /CNW/ - More nuanced and updated recommendations on reporting about suicide is the headline item in the third editions of Mindset: Reporting on Mental Health and En-Tête : reportage et santé mentale, published today. In the six years of their existence, the journalist-to-journalist guides have become the leading guides of their kind in Canada.
Revision, expansion and updating of the suicide chapter has been more than a year in preparation, with input from senior journalists and many suicide prevention professionals. It proposes a new approach to balancing the requirements and benefits of ethical and enterprising journalism with the need to reduce unintended harm.
"Six years ago we were arguing for an end to the taboo on reporting about suicide. At the time and since, pretty well all the available advice turned on reporting about individual instances in which people had ended their lives," said Cliff Lonsdale, who led the editorial team at the Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma, responsible for the guides' content.
"What we've seen in recent years has been the flourishing of incisive, enterprising and award-winning longer-form journalism that has taken the discussion of suicide much deeper, to considerable public benefit. But the journalists doing that work often had little relevant guidance to help them choose ethical approaches for the different kinds of stories they were telling.
"Drawing on their experience, and consulting leading figures in the realm of suicide prevention, we've come up with recommendations to encourage this kind of work, without negating the value of guidance offered by specialists with various suicide-prevention perspectives."
The chapter emphasizes the importance of context and, rather than being rigidly prescriptive, seeks to provide a foundation from which journalists can more confidently weigh possible benefits and risks of any reporting project involving suicide. It stresses the enduring value of ethical journalistic judgement, independently applied.
The English and French versions of the guides, made available without charge to news organizations, independent journalists, journalism schools and students, also include a new chapter on dealing with the mental health issues of young people, updating of the addictions and legal chapters, and statistical adjustments throughout.
From their conception, Mindset and En-Tête have been supported in part by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, using funds provided by Health Canada, and by CBC News as official media partner.
"It is encouraging to see journalists continuing to take a strong lead in the evolving discussion and understanding of mental health problems and illnesses. Suicide, in particular, is a difficult topic to address given it is often the result of complex biological and social factors," said Karla Thorpe, Director, Prevention and Promotion Initiatives for the MHCC. "Having an agreed basis on which to weigh competing viewpoints and priorities should be a significant step towards greater understanding between the journalism and suicide prevention communities. The MHCC recognizes the tremendously important role the media has to play in raising awareness about mental illness through responsible reporting, and we are pleased to lend our support to this process."
The field guides are distributed both as pocket-sized bound volumes and as PDFs, available from the support websites for Mindset: Reporting on Mental Health and En-Tête : reportage et santé mentale. Those websites also provide elaboration, case studies and video clips useful for study and for journalists planning deeper reporting with longer timeframes.
The Forum is an educational charity concerned with the physical and emotional wellbeing of journalists, their audiences and those on whom they report. Its work is supported by The Globe and Mail, CBC News, Radio-Canada and Cision.
Our thanks to Cision for supporting this announcement.
SOURCE Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma
Please visit Mindset: Reporting on Mental Health or contact Jane Hawkes, Executive Producer, Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma, 1-519 852-4946, [email protected]
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