Quality of News Reporting of Celebrity Suicide in Bangladesh against World Health Organization Guidelines

Abstract

Background: The quality of media reporting of celebrity suicide affects suicidal behaviour among community populations. However, it has not been assessed in Bangladesh. Objectives: We aimed to assess the quality of news reporting of celebrity suicide in Bangladesh against the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Methods: Online news portals were searched in both Bangla and English languages for news articles that reported the suicide of a Bangladeshi celebrity singer. The quality of the reporting was assessed and compared with the WHO media guidelines. Results: 163 reports with an average of 30 sentences were analysed. 72.4% of reports were published in Bangla, and about 95% of the reports were published within the week of the death. Almost all the reports mentioned the name and occupation of the celebrity, and about 90% of the reports displayed photos of the person. More than 70% of the reports mentioned the method of the suicide attempt. 7.4% mentioned warning signs while 57.7% of the reports mentioned the possibility of depression. 10 (6.1%) reports mentioned expert opinion, and none of the reports mentioned contact information for suicide prevention. Conclusions: The quality of news reporting of celebrity suicide is poor when compared to the WHO guidelines, with a high presence of potentially harmful characteristics, and negligible presence of potentially helpful characteristics.