ABSTRACT
This chapter provides guidance on how to cover suicide in a responsible and ethical manner and looks at how journalists report, write, and portray suicide stories. The nature of a suicide story means that death is at the heart of it, and death remains one of the great taboos to openly discuss. Coupled with the suddenness of a suicidal death, suicide survivors can also experience extreme emotional and physical reactions, including: post-traumatic stress; stigma; and isolation. Journalists have the power to report suicide responsibly and ethically, but keep in mind that the person who has killed himself or herself has exercised autonomy over their own life and has chosen to die. Social media posts from a deceased individual should not be published or quoted from because they tend to glamorise and glorify suicide. In writing a suicide story, journalists have the power to replicate stigmatising discourses or to shift perceptions on how people should think and react to suicide.
