A PRELIMINARY STUDY ONPRESENTATION STYLE OF SUICIDE NEWS ON INTERNET IN TURKEY

Abstract

Aim: It has been reported that presentation style of suicide news in media is associated with an increased risk of suicide. The aim of this study is to investigate the presentation of news related to suicide in Turkey. Method: In this study suicide news which were reported on internet between 2016 and 2017 were analysed. The suicide news are subjected to content analysis on the basis of the guideline which was prepared by the World Health Organization for media workers to provide recommendations on presentation style of suicide news. Within this context, in this study the headlines and content of suicide news were focused on. The content of suicide news was coded and categorized according to whether it informs the society or not. Results: A total of 106 suicide news, which were reported between 2016 and 2017, were scanned and when the headlines of this news were coded according to WHO recommendations, it was found out that 98 of them were "inappropriate" (92%) and 8 were found to be "appropriate" (8%) .Although the word of suicide was not used in 7 of 98 "inappropriate" headlines (7%), it was seen that the method and/or place used for commiting suicide were/was clearly defined. Conclusion: Results of the study demonstrated that there is a need for preparing a media guideline for Turkish media containing the reporting criteria of suicide news or at least there is a need for complying with WHO recommendations for reporting style of suicides in media

Keywords

• Suicide, suicide reporting, media, internet

İntiharla ilgili internet haberlerinin Türkiye’ de sunum şekli ile ilgili bir ön çalışma

Öz

Amaç: İntihar haberlerinin medyada sunum şekli ile intihar riskinde artış arasında ilişki olduğubildirilmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı; Türkiye’ deki intihar haberlerinin sunum şeklini araştırmaktır. Yöntem: Bu çalışmada 2016-2017 yılları arasında internet ortamında yer alan intihar haberleri incelenmiştir. Dünya Sağlık Örgütünün (DSÖ) medya çalışanları için hazırladığı intihar haberlerinin sunum şekli ile ilgili öneriler sunan kılavuzu esas alınarak, intihar haberleri içerik analizine tabi tutulmuştur. Bu bağlamda internet haberlerinin başlık ve içeriklerine odaklanılmıştır. İntihar haberlerinin içeriği toplumu bilgilendirip bilgilendirmediğine göre kodlanmış ve sınıflandırılmıştır. Bulgular: 2016 - 2017 yılları arasında internette yer bulan toplam 106 intihar haberi taranmış ve bu haberlerin başlıkları DSÖ’nün önerilerine göre kodlandığında, 98’inin “uygunsuz” (%92); 8’nin “uygun” (%8) olduğu bulunmuştur. 98 “uygunsuz” başlığın 7’sinde (%7) intihar kelimesi kullanılmamasına rağmen, yöntem ve/veya intiharın gerçekleştiği mekanın açık bir şekilde tanımlandığı görülmüştür. Sonuç: Çalışmanın sonuçları Türkiye’de intihar haberlerinin sunum kriterlerini içeren bir medya kılavuzunun hazırlanması ya da en azından intihar haberlerinin sunumunda DSÖ’nün önerilerine uyulmasına olan gerekliliği tekrar göstermiştir

Anahtar Kelimeler

• İntihar, intihar haberleri, medya, internet

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