Shift launches 'What's the Story?'
18 February 2008
Shift has today published a new handbook that will
help the media improve public understanding of mental
illness.
The handbook, 'What's the Story?: Reporting Mental Health and Suicide', gives practical guidance to the media on covering suicide, mental illness and violent crime by psychiatric patients.
It follows a survey which found three out of four people think the media fails to properly inform the public about mental illness.
It focuses particularly on setting rare but sensational murders carried out by a small number of people with mental health problems in a wider context. It is believed that coverage of these cases contributes to the widespread misconception that many people with experience of mental health problems are violent. In fact, millions of people have mental health problems and very few are violent.
The guidance gives journalists advice on how to avoid causing needless offence to the many readers, viewers and listeners affected by mental health problems. It highlights international evidence that careless reporting of suicides triggers copycat suicides and encourages the media to include helpline details - 'sensitive' reporting can literally save lives.
For more information and to download a copy of What's the Story, go here:
http://shift.org.uk/mediahandbook
The handbook, 'What's the Story?: Reporting Mental Health and Suicide', gives practical guidance to the media on covering suicide, mental illness and violent crime by psychiatric patients.
It follows a survey which found three out of four people think the media fails to properly inform the public about mental illness.
It focuses particularly on setting rare but sensational murders carried out by a small number of people with mental health problems in a wider context. It is believed that coverage of these cases contributes to the widespread misconception that many people with experience of mental health problems are violent. In fact, millions of people have mental health problems and very few are violent.
The guidance gives journalists advice on how to avoid causing needless offence to the many readers, viewers and listeners affected by mental health problems. It highlights international evidence that careless reporting of suicides triggers copycat suicides and encourages the media to include helpline details - 'sensitive' reporting can literally save lives.
For more information and to download a copy of What's the Story, go here:
http://shift.org.uk/mediahandbook
