The media coverage of Kate Spade’s death was frankly unacceptable

Journalists have a duty to examine how information provided by their sources (including the police) is processed and presented, rather than simply repeat it without giving a thought to the ethics of their own trade

The death of the fashion designer Kate Spade, apparently by her own hand, has brought into sharp focus once again the way suicides are reported by the media.

Broadly speaking, this is an area which has seen considerable improvement over the past decade – at least in the UK. Spurred in particular by concerns over reporting of a series of suicides in and around Bridgend between 2007 and 2009, work by suicide prevention charities, including Samaritans and Papyrus, by MPs and healthcare professionals, by media regulators and industry groups has paid dividends. More work is currently underway.

Now, it is a requirement of key industry codes of practice that print and online news publishers (and broadcasters) do not publish excessive detail about the method used by an individual to take their own life. That underlines the well-demonstrated potential for vulnerable people to be influenced by information they see about others’ self-inflicted deaths and to take the same step.

In fact, the “copycat effect” has been observed beyond news-based presentations. Following a late 1990s episode of the BBC drama Casualty, featuring an attempted suicide by paracetamol overdose, researchers found that the number of people taking similar overdoses rose by 17 per cent during the subsequent week. Perhaps most famously, Goethe’s 1774 novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, led to young men taking their own lives in the same way as the story’s central character.

Beyond the specific point about limiting the amount of detail concerning how a suicide has been undertaken, there is much greater understanding too about the potential impact of tone and proportionality. Presenting death by suicide as a positive resolution or creating the impression that it is a way of achieving fame can plainly be harmful, as can overly dramatic headlines and images. It is the creation of an emotional link between reader and the deceased which can be as damaging as reporting the facts of a case in too much depth.

On the other hand, describing a suicide as having been “committed” unnecessarily reinforces links with the act’s past criminalisation, which not only affects those grieving for a loved one but also drives discussion about self-harm and suicide into the shadows. Ultimately, suicide prevention relies on people feeling able to talk about suicidal feelings in a supportive environment: that in turn is made more difficult if the whole subject remains taboo.

There is then a balance to be struck. When it comes to news reporting, however, it seems wise to err on the side of caution.

In that context, some of the coverage of Spade’s death seems surprisingly full on. In part that may reflect the different approach of media outlets in the US to those here.

For instance, noting that Spade apparently hanged herself would not breach the requirement to avoid excessive detail about the method of suicide. But describing both the ligature used and the fitting to which it was attached ought, taken together, to be regarded as a step too far.

Likewise, whereas in the UK the contents of a suicide note would be unlikely to be included in news coverage – except potentially in the context of an inquest report – numerous American publications have set out details of a letter said to have been left by Spade. Some outlets in this country have followed up those reports and repeated the information.

It is true to say that there are different policing cultures on the two sides of the Atlantic, with much more openness in the US about inquiries into incidents both criminal and, as in this case, non-criminal. Journalists, however, have a duty to examine how information provided by their sources (including the police) is processed and presented, rather than simply repeating it without giving a thought to the ethics of their own trade.

According to her sister, Kate Spade had mental health problems over many years, which makes it all the sadder that she never found a way to access the kind of support that might have made her life bearable.

It is notable too that her sister has referred to Spade having been significantly affected by the death of Robin Williams in 2014. Williams’ suicide was also reported in considerable – and repetitive – detail by the American media, and thence globally. There was, in the aftermath, much hand-wringing about journalistic failings, which were blamed for the 10 per cent rise in US suicides in the five months that followed. The number of suicides by the same method employed by the actor rose by 32.3 per cent.

The lessons from Williams’ death ought therefore to be clear. But some of the coverage of Spade’s tragic death suggests they still need to be learned.

For US readers, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is 1-800-273-8255 and the Crisis Text Line is 741741. If you have been affected by this article in the UK, you can contact the following organisations for support:
mind.org.uk
beateatingdisorders.org.uk
nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth
mentalhealth.org.uk
samaritans.org