By Chen Yoke Lim, Sin Chew Daily

A question put forward by our editor-in-chief Kuik Cheng Kang has caused a stir within the news desk chat group.

"If I decide that from this moment on we will no longer publish any suicide news, will you support me? We will only report if a suicide case involves a celebrity, VIP or has triggered a string of chain reactions in the society. Suicide news involving ordinary people will no longer be carried."

Among the responses from our colleagues are:

"We can forget about general suicide news, but not if it has developed into another issue."

"I think we should not carry any suicide news involving the general public because of illness, debt, depression, unemployment, etc."

"We have become increasingly numb about a piece of suicide news we publish, but what we don't really know is what kind of adverse ramifications it will spawn."

"Suicide news is downright depressing. It could potentially deal a further blow on the victim's family and could have grave repercussions on other people as well, in particular the more vulnerable ones who might think ending their own lives is a solution to their sufferings. As such news will not bring any positive meaning to the society, I feel there's no harm skipping it."

Having considered the views of the editors, the editor-in-chief sent out a letter to all the reporters:

"I have made the following decisions and your cooperation is highly appreciated:

"Firstly, for seven days beginning tomorrow (June 30), we will carry public service advertisements and hope the print and online media platforms will concurrently initiate this life-saving campaign.

"Secondly, starting from tomorrow (June 30), we will not publish suicide news as far as possible, such as cases involving depression and mental issues, lest they will trigger undesirable domino effect. If we must carry one, make it as simple as possible. A suicide case could become the talk of the town and the damage inflicted on the victim's family, especially minors, could be long lasting.

"Nevertheless, as some colleagues have pointed out, suicide incidents are actually reflecting a social phenomenon, and any social phenomenon deserves the attention of all parties in a bid to address the problem.

"As such, we will not completely do away with suicide news but need to gauge which ought to be published and which not. If an incident reflects a problem or crisis that really warrants the society's attention, or could give rise to further developments, or involves some celebrity or very important person, we should talk about it in depth to determine how much coverage we should give it, before publication.

"Meanwhile, we can protrude its social implications through proper handling of the news and tactfully headlining it, meaning we will pen the news article from the perspective of the incident's social implications, not sensationalizing the content nor rationalizing the suicidal act. Additionally, the content will not include details of how the suicide has been carried out. No pictures of the victim's body should be published, and no exaggerative writing. Before posting the content on Facebook or other social media platforms, do give it a thoughtful consideration whether the headline and image selection are appropriate. Please discuss it on our online chat group if you are undecided whether to publish a piece of news.

We hope we can pool together the energies of the society to hold out a hand to those who really need…"

Malaysians have been living under tremendous pressure given the negative impact from a string of events such as viral infections and job losses ever since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Some have opted to take their own lives out of utter desperation, passing on their unsolved problems to their devastated families and loved ones.

Statistics show that nearly 300 people have committed suicide due to debts, loss of income and a host of other factors since the start of the pandemic.

The editor-in-chief's decision has brought out the issue of the media's handling of suicide cases in our society. The way the media carry such reports will potentially shape the attitude, thinking and even behaviors of the readers.

If such incidents are played up or elaborately described in media reports, they may galvanize the more vulnerable in our society to emulate the suicidal acts, causing a spike in suicide cases.

In view of this, a responsible media practitioner such handle such reports very carefully with the hope suitably carrying suicide news could help reduce instead of encourage suicide.

It has been estimated that the number of suicide attempts is at least 10 to 20 times the number of deaths from suicide, but the actual rate could be higher than this.

As such, a responsible media practitioner must constantly be on high alert while reporting such incidents:

1. Don't ever give suicide news frontpage or prominent coverage and absolutely no excessive or repetitive reporting.

2. Never use provocative and rationalizing descriptions to make suicide look like a feasible solution to address people's woes.

3. No details on how suicide has been carried out.

4. Never divulge the exact location of the incident.

5. Avoid provocative headlines.

6. Never publish the pictures, videos or links to the victim's social media accounts.

News editors must not put suicide news on the newspaper's front cover with a headline that contains the word "suicide", as this will draw excessive public attention. No victim's pictures or site photos as this may incite public emotions and potentially encourage suicide.

In the meantime, the editors must be familiarized with the guidelines and specifications in the reporting of suicide cases. Emphasis must be placed on the preventive treatment of potential suicides.

As a matter of fact, it doesn't help much for ordinary readers to be constantly fed with news on suicide. They won't lose anything either if they totally don't read such reports.

A responsible news report should be one that helps educate the public on prevention of suicide while encouraging suicidal individuals to seek alternative solutions.

Print media's effort alone is never enough, especially in our information age now teeming with irresponsible media and web users who are so eager to share a piece of suicide news, in particular one that is accompanied with an eye-catching video or image.

In the meantime, there are quite a number of websites that actually encourage suicide, publishing in details the way suicide has been carried out, pushing the vulnerable closer to the brink of imitating such tragic acts.

The media must learn to discreetly report a suicide case, and strike a balance between the readers' right to information and the potential risk of causing damage to our society, especially when the entire society is subjected to insurmountable pressure at this moment.

At a time when any individual can be an unrestrained content creator in our self-media world today, caution has to be exercised before we tap any button to share or forward a piece of news.