Abstract
Background: Periodically, a debate around suicide reporting becomes prominent in the media. At one
point, the Chief Coroner of New Zealand made a public call to the media to open up
discussions around suicide and its reporting. Following this action, a high-profile debate
emerged in the media. Aims: Our aim was to identify the key players in this debate and
examine their perspectives. Method: From a Factiva search of news items from
high-circulation newspapers, we identified key stakeholders and documented their
perspectives using a framing matrix. Results: Seven stakeholder groups were identified with
coroners and health service providers dominant in the news. Framing around the issues
varied. There was consensus among the majority of stakeholders supporting continued public
health type coverage of the issue of suicide, but a number of differences in levels of
support for the reporting individual suicides. Limitations: Although specific to New
Zealand, the findings will be of interest to countries considering reporting restrictions.
Conclusion: The debate around suicide and its reporting appears to have been obfuscated by
the conflating of two different types of media reporting on suicide: news media coverage of
suicide as a public health issue and the reporting of individual suicide cases.