Restraint is what is needed from the media over the death of Caroline Flack

Editorial: It is a time to reflect on whether news outlets have erred on the side of excess, even given the intense public interest

The coverage of Flack’s death (and of others before her) shows that there is a need for further voluntary restraint in the treatment of suicides (Reuters)

The reporting of the death of Caroline Flack was clearly high profile, and inevitably so. The reporting of the more precise circumstances of her death has suffered from being over-sensationalist and in poor taste, and unnecessarily so.

The way she chose to take her own life has been put into headlines, and the treatment given to the story has generally lacked restraint. It seems likely that it has added to the distress of family and those closest to her, even if the family released a final unpublished Instagram posting, suggesting the turmoil that had enveloped Flack. It makes for sombre reading. Yet, the presentation of her story has grown more tawdry as new details have come to light. Too little regard has been paid to how all of that might affect vulnerable people.

Some might say it is probably no better than might be expected in a free society with a robust, fiercely competitive free press, with the liberty to make its own mistakes. Still, the press is also perfectly capable of controlling itself, and behaving responsibly, as the industry’s codes of practice require. Most journalists in most publications are careful most of the time about truth and fact, and the impact of what they present to the public. Yet the recent coverage of Flack’s death (and of others before her) shows that there is a need for further voluntary restraint in the treatment of suicides, and a tightening of the relevant industry codes of practice accordingly.