Reporting suicides is without doubt one of the most difficult subjects to cover as a journalist. Where the method is unusual, this is even more hazardous: studies have shown that copycat attempts have risen dramatically in the aftermath of their portrayal in the media (PDF).
In September last year the press was understandably interested in the apparent pact formed by Steve Lumb and Joanna Lee, who died together in a car on an industrial estate in Braintree.
The two had, according to police, met online and killed themselves using a relatively recently discovered method involving gas, placing warning messages on the vehicle alerting the emergency services to the potential danger of opening it without proper precautions.
Where the coverage crossed over the line into sensationalism and distortion was in the presentation of the messages posted on the internet by the pair and the replies to them. The Sun claimed (The People later followed) that both Lumb and Lee had been “egged on” and actively encouraged to kill themselves by posters on the Usenet groups, something which I at the time cast significant doubt on. The next day the paper claimed that a “Doctor Death” figure had “goaded and “preyed” upon Lee, which was also more than dubious.
Six months later and it seems as though the first directly linkable pact has taken place.
The bodies of Jenny Spain and Mark Searle were discovered in Spain’s car near Chalfont St. Peter in Bucks, with similar warning messages left on the car as in Braintree. It’s also quickly been discovered that Spain had posted on a related Usenet group to the one principally used by Lumb and Lee, asking for help. The difference seems to be that at least for now the Sun’s coverage has been far more staid and accurate:
Referring to a similar suicide pact, Jenny, 23, wrote: “I want to gas myself like those two people did in their car. I need to know what they used to make the lethal gas. Hope you can help.” She had two replies to her message, posted in the early hours of January 23. One suggested she tried to Google the answer. The other was from a woman asking if she spoke Spanish.
The thread is here, and is almost exactly as the Sun describes it. This is interesting because it’s almost identical to what Steve Lumb posted, and he too was told to search, something the Sun portrayed then as being “egged on”.
Whether this will change as Spain’s mother has already called for “suicide websites” to be closed down in the Evening Standard or if further messages are uncovered remains to be seen. For now at least it’s a welcome progression from what went before, especially as the method has not been referred to in the same manner as it was last time.
It’s only through deeper understanding of just what some people do go through that we’ll ever be able to get close to a proper equilibrium of protection coupled with the right to know. And even those of us who have experienced severe depression can never truly know what anyone else has properly felt like or dealt with.
Sensationalism and distortion help no one, and it has to be hoped that today’s coverage is a step in the right direction.
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A longer version is here.
We should stop regarding suicides as something negative. It is someone taking a decision about their own life. That is acceptable. Nobody owns no one an explanation for that. (http://andreasmoser.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/world-suicide-prevention-day-on-10-september/)
Generally, Andreas, if someone takes their own life, they are desperately unhappy. That is not something to be ignored. Also, they may be suffering from mental illness, in which case they may not have taken that decision while in full possession of their mental faculties.
Of course, there are cases where people are in such physical pain or so disabled, that I can comprehend their decision. Even so, your comment is still a bit glib.
Yes, I still regard suicide as negative.
How can somebody feeling so terrible about themselves that they take their own life be anything other than intrinsically negative? I read your blog and you make some interesting points, but I think your overall attitude to the tragedy of suicide is laboured and serves no empirical use.
Sorry, I should make clear that my post above is in response to Andreas not the article itself.
Septicisle,
I think the question is rather, was there anything else the Sun wanted to be sensational about on the day – it is effectively an editorial decision which facts to report and which to sensationalise.
I am not convinced about the copycat arguments. How can we know that people are not just bringing forward something that they would have done anyway? The effect would see a clustering in the aftermath of a story. However, absent the story the same suicides would occur but just spread out over a longer period.
Andreas, there was a study Ben Goldacre linked to a while back showing that the vast majority of failed suicides were glad they had failed several years on and were a lot happier in their lives.
Is the SCUM becoming more mature – I thought it was until it ran a poll asking if a gay person should put themselves forward for a cabinet post.
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/06/gay-paper-cabinet-sun
Suicide is a difficult and sensitive area so I find it incredible that anybody thinks such a shitty paper can offer any meaningful insight given the unusual circumstances surrounding this case.
Just looking at the SCUM’s coverage of Alexander McQueen’s suicide.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2850863/Alexander-McQueen-commits-suicide-days-after-mum-dies.html
We are told, “heartbroken Kate (Moss) 36, was “devastated” at her pal’s death.
She cancelled the launch of her new range of bags at London store Selfridges and spent the day at home crying”.
It is further reported, “a man in his 30s with bleached blond hair, CLAIMING to be McQueen’s boyfriend, wept in the street. He said he was too distraught to talk”.
The SCUM say, “McQueen had told of his own grief in a garbled post on his Twitter page on February 3. He wrote: “I’m letting my followers know the my mother passed away yesterday if it she had not had me nor would you RIPmumxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.”
He then followed it up with: “but life must go on.”
On February 7 he tweeted: “sunday evening been a ****ing awful week but my friends have been great but now i have to some how pull myself together.”
The SCUM’s penetrating analysis suggests “McQueen was also affected by losing his aunt Dolly – who died a year ago this week”.
The designer’s tragic death cast a cloud over the industry ahead of next week’s London Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week in March – where his latest collection is due to be shown.
McQueen’s ex-husband, documentary maker George Forsyth, said: “I’m completely numb. I can’t believe this.” – the pair wed in a New Age ceremony in 2000 with Kate Moss as bridesmaid.
I do not know if the SCUM ran a poll asking if gay suicide was in any way different to straight suicide?
It would be nice to believe the media would avoid sensationalism, but unfortunately editors sit at their desks at the bequest of owners – and they, in turn are largely only interested in selling papers. Regrettably, the Biritish public have been fed and now look for this sensationalism.It will be a hard act to replace.
Watchman: Normally I’d be inclined to agree with you, but they did originally take it far beyond mere sensationalism, potentially lying to the very recently bereaved about what exactly had happened. That said, maybe there were time pressures yesterday which didn’t lead to further searching out the newsgroups.
Richard: I think there’s something in that, and I’m normally very sceptical about “copycat” incidents, but there does at least seem to be some evidence suggesting there is an effect. Not going into unnecessary detail in such reports isn’t asking too much in any case.