Star's public editor on journalism and suicides

The Star's public editor, Kathy English, has a thoughtful column about media's policy on reporting suicides.

Excerpt:

"Star editor Michael Cooke also thinks we need to report the truth when someone takes their own life. He likens the silence around reporting suicide to a time when people felt shame in talking about death from cancer.

"In reporting stories about suicide, the media can spark important public discussion about depression and the serious mental health issues that affect one in five Canadians. Certainly we’ve seen that occur in recent weeks in the aftermath of the deaths of the two hockey players.

"The conventional media silence around suicide does seem to be shifting and a view emerging that journalists have a responsibility to report the facts about suicide — which claims many more lives in Canada than homicide or car crashes. . ."

Click on the title to read the full column.