Invisible victims of non-ethical reporting on suicide in Serbia
The subject of this paper is the analysis of the way the daily printing in Serbia is engaged in the reporting on suicide and the level of respect of the Code of Ethics of Serbian Journalists. The aim of thee paper is to present and analyse the findings of the research on the manner of repor...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Victimology Society of Serbia and Prometej-Beograd
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Temida |
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| Online Access: | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/1450-6637/2019/1450-66371903263D.pdf |
| Summary: | The subject of this paper is the analysis of the way the daily printing in
Serbia is engaged in the reporting on suicide and the level of respect of
the Code of Ethics of Serbian Journalists. The aim of thee paper is to
present and analyse the findings of the research on the manner of reporting
on cases of suicide in electronic editions of eight daily newspapers in the
period from 1st January to 30th September 2018. Both quantitative and
qualitative analysis of the media content, including photographs and video
footage was performed. The research findings showed that only two dailies
out of eight fully followed the professional and ethical conduct for
journalists. In total, 223 articles have been published about cases of
suicide. Out of this number, the Code of Ethics has been violated in 147
articles (65.9%). In 40 articles media un-ethically reported on cases of
suicide of children and minors. The most frequent methods of the Code of
Ethics’ violations include: disrespect of dignity, privacy and grief of
people who have experienced the death from suicide of a loved one,
publishing photographs of the scene of a given suicide, and pictures of an
individual who has died by suicide and of his/her family members, and using
language which sensationalises suicide. Due to unethical reporting, members
of the family of the persons who committed suicide have been exposed to
additional trauma and stigmatization, thus becoming invisible victims of
irresponsible media reporting. The analysis of the legal and institutional
framework has shown that mechanisms for the protection of their right to
privacy and dignity are in place. Beside court protection, the victims of
non-ethical reporting may seek protection from the Press Council, an
independent self-regulatory body that has been established for monitoring
the observance of the Code of Ethics and solving complaints made by
individuals and institutions related to media content. However, it has been
found that the traumatised and stigmatised family members very rarely use
these opportunities provided. The analysis of the complaint proceedings
before the Press Complaints Commission from the beginning of its work in
September 2011 to 2019 showed that only three persons filed complaints
against media seeking protection of their right to privacy and dignity. |
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| ISSN: | 1450-6637 2406-0941 |