AAS Media Guidelines & Safe Messaging 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which organization publishes widely-used media reporting guidelines on suicide in the United States?
- American Psychiatric Association only
- AFSP, SAMHSA, and reporting on suicide organizations collaboratively (Correct answer)
- The Federal Communications Commission
- The Centers for Disease Control exclusively
Correct answer: AFSP, SAMHSA, and reporting on suicide organizations collaboratively
Organizations like AFSP, SAMHSA, and ReportingOnSuicide.org collaborate to produce and disseminate safe messaging guidelines for journalists.
Question 2: When a fictional TV show character dies by suicide, the MOST harmful element would be:
- A scene where another character calls a crisis line
- A montage depicting the deceased character's happy memories
- An on-screen visualization of the suicide method (Correct answer)
- A grief support group scene that follows the death
Correct answer: An on-screen visualization of the suicide method
On-screen visualization of suicide methods is associated with increased suicidal ideation and behavior in vulnerable viewers.
Question 3: Safe messaging guidelines advise against framing suicide as:
- A preventable public health issue
- A complex problem with multiple risk factors
- A 'solution' or 'escape' from life's problems (Correct answer)
- Something that affects people across all demographics
Correct answer: A 'solution' or 'escape' from life's problems
Framing suicide as an escape or solution can normalize it as a coping strategy for vulnerable individuals experiencing distress.
Question 4: A newsroom editor reviewing a story about a suicide cluster in a high school should REMOVE which element?
- Quotes from a school counselor about available support
- Statistics on adolescent suicide rates in the state
- A list of the students' names and their methods of death (Correct answer)
- A sidebar with the 988 crisis line contact information
Correct answer: A list of the students' names and their methods of death
Naming victims alongside their methods compounds contagion risk by creating models of identification and imitation.
Question 5: According to safe messaging best practices, which person is MOST appropriate to interview for a suicide-related news story?
- A family member interviewed 24 hours after the death
- A mental health clinician specializing in suicide prevention (Correct answer)
- A classmate who witnessed the suicide
- A neighbor who can describe the deceased's recent behavior
Correct answer: A mental health clinician specializing in suicide prevention
Mental health clinicians can provide accurate, de-stigmatizing context and prevention information without sharing potentially harmful details.
Question 6: Which type of media content has been shown to have a PROTECTIVE effect against suicide?
- Graphic documentaries about the physical consequences of suicide attempts
- Celebrity accounts of suicidal crises and subsequent recovery (Correct answer)
- News reports that detail the grief of bereaved families
- Social media memorials that celebrate the deceased's personality
Correct answer: Celebrity accounts of suicidal crises and subsequent recovery
Celebrity accounts of surviving suicidal crises and seeking help are associated with increased help-seeking behavior in their audiences.
Question 7: Safe messaging training for journalists most critically emphasizes which core principle?
- Restricting all coverage of suicide to prevent any contagion
- Responsible reporting can save lives by connecting readers to resources and reducing stigma (Correct answer)
- Only mental health journalists should cover suicide-related stories
- Numerical statistics should always replace narrative storytelling in suicide coverage
Correct answer: Responsible reporting can save lives by connecting readers to resources and reducing stigma
The core message of safe messaging training is that thoughtful, responsible journalism can actively prevent suicide rather than cause harm.
AAS Media Guidelines & Safe Messaging 5
Which organization publishes widely-used media reporting guidelines on suicide in the United States?