Publishing names of suicide victims?

At a paper I used to work for we had the policy of not reporting on "private" suicides. I do remember one "private" suicide we did report on, but that was on request of the family. He was a 17-year-old HS senior and his parents felt that the meds he was on was the cause and they wanted to warn others about his situation.

Don't know if that was right, but it was the parents who wanted to make others aware of his condition.

http://gcdailyworld.com/story/1261437.html

http://gcdailyworld.com/story/1261454.html

 

I'm all for that. If the family believes telling their story can help save lives, I say go for it.
You know it will be a good read.

 

I don't understand how this can be a criterion for whether or not to run it. I can promise you that a story which says, "Wilhelmina Creech, whose body bore the marks of 17 stab wounds... " is not a story which the Creeches want to read.

 

agree that it doesn't make a lot of sense, but was told the same in school.

 

My grandfather killed himself. I was 3, so I wasn't aware of much beyond the fact that he was dead, and I was 16 before I knew how he died. He was a blue-collar immigrant, no public figure, and he did it in his garage at home. There were a lot more local newspapers in those days, and only one of four or five of them reported it as a suicide. Coincidentally, that paper gave me my first full-time job when I was 19. I didn't know it when I took the job and I doubt it would have caused me to reject the offer, but my family never forgot which paper reported it. I understand the family members' unhappiness about it and I understand why the paper printed it. I'd say if it's public or a public figure, the paper has no choice, but otherwise I don't think it falls under "public's right to know." Not every obit gives a cause of death and it's not always something people are embarrassed about, it's just a private matter. But I think if a guy jumps off a bridge, I'd have to print the name unless the paper's policy said otherwise. Just be prepared for complaints.

 

Actually, you're not supposed to say "suicide victims," just "suicides"

 

I think Slappy hit the nail on the head with his initial response.

If Billy Bob down the street commits suicide because his wife slept with half the town, it's just your run-of-the mill obit.

If the mayor commits suicide becaused he got YouTubed at the local strip club, that's a story.

 

sort of public?

 

I don't think you name the victim in the main story, however I favor running it as a package with a story about a car being destroyed when so-and-so landed on it.