Reporting 12-year old girl committing suicide: Media Sensationalism!

[godsaint]

---

hehehehinay hinay lang bro basin ma warn ka..

[muffdiver]

I think this is a good example on how poverty exist in the Philippines. But the media cover it up. All the nice buildings, starbucks and the malls....does not help the poor people. It's a wake up call. Unlike in other countries, there a 1-800 hotline number for kids who needs help. All the money spent in text messaging, starbucks, internet chatting.. could have save a life. it wont be the last. There another millions of children next year who needs help.

[arnoldsa]

I watched The Correspondents last night regarding media sensationalism and irresponsibility that has characterized most of the reports about the death of Mariannet Amper, a 12-year old girl from Davao. I must say, the documentary was well-presented, balanced and probably the least biased of anything ABS-CBN has shown in quite a while.

It will be remembered that the initial reports about the child's suicide speculated on poverty as the reason why she killed herself. Without considering other factors that may have led her to commit suicide, without even verifying if the strangling was indeed self-inflicted, the media had zeroed in on entries in the girl's diary that she and her brother had been absent from school for a while--and the media frenzy began.

Mariannet's family objected to the media's depiction of them as practically starving. Such was not the case, according to the girl's father. "Sampu ang sinabi namin dito, kinse na ang pinalabas sa babasahin", ayon sa ama. While the family was poor, they were far from being the "patay gutom" that the media has portrayed them.

Subsequently, Davao Mayor Duterte ordered the exhumation and autopsy of the child's body. It was discovered that she had vaginal lacerations. The girl had been raped.

The media sensationalism that has capitalized on the poverty angle was clearly a breach of journalistic ethics. But more than that, it has posed a risk to susceptible children and adolescents in its audience. Research studies have connected "suicide contagion", or a significant increase in suicide attempts, with prominent media stories about suicide or people who commit suicide. In fact, there are a set of guidelines that have been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Association of Suicidology when reporting about suicide. These were mentioned in the documentary, and I will cite them below. I have included the explanations from this link for better comprehension.

In general, research shows that the following types of news reports have an effect of increasing suicidal behavior:

* Simplifying the reasons for the suicide.
Suicide is never the result of a single factor or event, but rather results from a complex interaction of many factors and usually involves a history of psychosocial problems. Public officials and the media should carefully explain that the final precipitating event was not the only cause of a given suicide. Most persons who have committed suicide have had a history of problems that may not have been acknowledged during the acute aftermath of the suicide. Cataloguing the problems that could have played a causative role in a suicide is not necessary, but acknowledgment of these problems is recommended.

* Engaging in repetitive, ongoing, or excessive reporting of suicide in the news. Repetitive and ongoing coverage, or prominent coverage, of a suicide tends to promote and maintain a preoccupation with suicide among at-risk persons, especially among persons 15-24 years of age. This preoccupation appears to be associated with suicide contagion. Information presented to the media should include the association between such coverage and the potential for suicide contagion. Public officials and media representatives should discuss alternative approaches for coverage of newsworthy suicide stories.

* Providing sensational coverage of suicide. By its nature, news coverage of a suicidal event tends to heighten the general public's preoccupation with suicide. This reaction is also believed to be associated with contagion and the development of suicide clusters. Public officials can help minimize sensationalism by limiting, as much as possible, morbid details in their public discussions of suicide. News media professionals should attempt to decrease the prominence of the news report and avoid the use of dramatic photographs related to the suicide (e.g., photographs of the funeral, the deceased person's bedroom, and the site of the suicide).

* Reporting "how-to" description of suicide. Describing technical details about the method of suicide is undesirable. For example, reporting that a person died from carbon monoxide poisoning may not be harmful; however, providing details of the mechanism and procedures used to complete the suicide may facilitate imitation of the suicidal behavior by other at-risk persons.

* Presenting suicide as a tool for accomplishing certain ends. Suicide is usually a rare act of a troubled or depressed person. Presentation of suicide as a means of coping with personal problems (e.g., the breakup of a relationship or retaliation against parental discipline) may suggest suicide as a potential coping mechanism to at-risk persons. Although such factors often seem to trigger a suicidal act, other psychopathological problems are almost always involved. If suicide is presented as an effective means for accomplishing specific ends, it may be perceived by a potentially suicidal person as an attractive solution.

* Glorifying suicide or persons who commit suicide. News coverage is less likely to contribute to suicide contagion when reports of community expressions of grief (e.g., public eulogies, flying flags at half-mast, and erecting permanent public memorials) are minimized. Such actions may contribute to suicide contagion by suggesting to susceptible persons that society is honoring the suicidal behavior of the deceased person, rather than mourning the person's death.

* Focusing on the suicide completer’s positive characteristics. Empathy for family and friends often leads to a focus on reporting the positive aspects of a suicide completer's life. For example, friends or teachers may be quoted as saying the deceased person "was a great kid" or "had a bright future," and they avoid mentioning the troubles and problems that the deceased person experienced. As a result, statements venerating the deceased person are often reported in the news. However, if the suicide completer's problems are not acknowledged in the presence of these laudatory statements, suicidal behavior may appear attractive to other at-risk persons -- especially those who rarely receive positive reinforcement for desirable behaviors.

In addition to these guidelines, The American Association of Suicidology recommends that media reports about suicide include potential warning signs, as well as information on community resources (such as Helpline 2-1-1) for those who may be suicidal or who know people who are.

The media should be more aware of its responsibility, not only in regard to the accuracy of its reports, but more importantly, to the impact of its presentation of information on its audience. It must be aware of the varying degrees of discernment of its audience, which include impressionable children, adolescents and young adults; and of the very real danger to people's lives that could be caused by media stepping beyond the bounds of responsible journalism.

[SPRINGFIELD_XD_40]

If it sells its good . Lisod mo asenso na ga kinto ra human naay tiil pa gyud sa ilawm .