JMU softball player death and possible suicide - too far?

Is everyone comfortable about the way this is being handled?

Is this on TMZ without their run in World Series?

Did the university announce the death too soon?

This just isn’t sitting well with me and I’m trying to pinpoint it.

 

Too

 

I think the media has been spending two days saying "suicide" without saying "suicide." Mental-health references, poignant tweets.

But hey, nobody has come out and said it -- school, family, friends. So I can understand it.

 

Nothing like clickbait headlines for a young person's death. Assholes.

 

And by the way, the deaths of two teenagers from around here warranted detailed reporting: one jumped from a parking garage, another jumped from the suicide tower at Hudson Yards. Reporting Bernett's death as a suicide without details raises more questions than it answers.

 

I'll take the contra here and state that after a long time in this business, I'm still not sure we should cover non-celebrity suicides at all.

 

One newsroom I worked in had a rule about not covering non-celeb suicides. The exception was when it caused traffic or commuter train delays, which was about once a week, unfortunately.

 

What is the line then? Is it a story in Harrisonburg, but not Richmond? Is it a story because it's a football player, but not a softball player?

 

Our rule was basically, "Does the person have merit a news obit? If not, then it's not a story... unless the trains are delayed."

 

I guess my answer is - if it's not Robin Williams, don't cover it.

A college softball player doesn't rise to the level of 'celebrity' in the way I'm using the word here.

 

The other worthwhile exception: Sometimes the family will come forward to promote suicide prevention measures, so maybe they can stop a future death.

But that’s usually well after their loved one dies, understandably.