I am interested in looking at the increasing suicide rate in Wales, which has been covered a lot in the news recently. It seems like there is not that much information available, but I thought I would look at it anyway.
I compiled the factual information from
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/02/19/4859704-ap.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4673920.stm
- 17 young suicides in just over a year near one town in South Wales
- No evidence of a suicide pact or cult - “Our review is ongoing but so far there is absolutely no indication of any criminality or of any suicide pact,”
- Police complained about “sensational” media reporting adding to the problems, specifically newspapers
- Police did say that a number of the victims used a social networking Web site that is popular with young Britons.
- The parents of one of the children who committed suicide said their son may have been influenced by media reports they believe glamorized earlier suicides, and called for press restraint.
- “We feel media coverage could trigger other young people, who are already vulnerable and feeling low, into attempting to take their own lives.”
This case study seems like it could be important in relation to my enquiry into whether sensationalist media is linked to crime rates. In my online survey, a high percentage of people said they believe newspapers do exaggerate and sometimes glamourise crimes such as this, which can have a very negative effect, especially on young people, who are perceived as being the "vulnerable" in society.
Type of source: Secondary news websites
Benefits of source:
- From news websites, including the BBC site, suggesting the information is quite trustworthy
- Good factual information
Limitations of source:
- Not much insight into why this is happening
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