The training on Suicide Prevention and Media

The training on Suicide Prevention and Media within the JA ImpleMENTAL’s Work package 6 was held online (via Zoom) on the 19th of October 2023 (10:00-15:00 MET).

The aims of the training was to share experiences / good-practice examples of how to engage professional journalists in suicide preventive reporting.

AGENDA OF THE TRAINING

Eva Liebentritt (ORF – Austrian national broadcaster, winner of the Austrian Papageno Media Award 2022, Austria)

Eva Liebentritt is a journalist currently working at the ORF (the Austrian national broadcaster). She won the 2022 Austrian Papageno Media Award with her short TV documentary „When everything becomes too much: Suicidal thoughts in adolescents “. She has been involved in the recent update of the Austrian media guidelines and was part of the Papageno Jury in 2023.

Eva Liebentritt gave a personal introduction to the topic of suicide preventive reporting from her point of view as a journalist. She stressed the responsibility journalists have and talked about insecurities and fears journalists have when reporting about crises and the topic of suicide.

Thomas Niederkrotenthaler (Head of Suicide Research Unit, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vice president of IASP, Austria)

Media & suicide: Roles of the narrative and updates to media guidelines

Suicide prevention research as it relates to media portrayals and communication about suicide and mental health has been Thomas Niederkrotenthaler’s main working area for 17 years. He has been leading related evaluation research as well as the development of media-specific recommendations for the portrayal of suicide and mental health nationally and internationally. He has been first to describe a suicide-preventive effect of stories of lived experience of suicidal thoughts and feelings and mastery of crisis, the Papageno effect. He has guided related content analyses, randomized controlled trials, and population based studies including time series studies which have been instrumental in international developments in the field

Alexander Grabenhofer-Eggerth (Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, AT)
Saška Roškar (National Institute of Public Health, NIJZ, SLO)
Pia Solin (Finnish institute for Health and Welfare, THL, FIN)
Zrinka Laido (Ministry of Social Affairs Estonia, MoSA, EE)

Different approaches to engaging journalists in suicide preventive reporting

  • Presentation
    • Main points:
      • Involvement of journalists in the development and updates of media guidelines
      • Getting involved in the education of journalists
      • Screening media content for problematic content
  • Recording: https://dory.goeg.at/s/3w3JTadAHcfjkX7

Alexander Grabenhofer-Eggerth (Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, AT)
Zrinka Laido (Ministry of Social Affairs Estonia, MoSA, EE)

A step-by-step guide to implementing a Papageno Media Award

  • Presentation
    • Main points:
      • Implementation in Austria and Estonia
      • Organizing the award: nomination process, jury, communication, planning the event
      • Overcoming obstacles when implementing a Papageno Media Award
  • Recording: https://dory.goeg.at/s/ND6Xwmjjn5Cf2Cw

Saška Roškar (National Institute of Public Health, NIJZ, SLO)
Salla Nazarenko (international affairs’ specialist, Union of Journalists, FIN)
Maja Sodja (journalist, POP TV, SLO)
Anna-Kaisa Oidermaa (clinical psychologist, managing director of NGO „Peaasjad“, EE)

Barriers and facilitators for reporting in a suicide preventive way

Saška Roškar is the leader of the Interdisciplinary working group for suicide prevention which operates within the National program for mental health in Slovenia.

Salla Nazarenko works at the Union of Journalists in Finland as the international affairs’ specialist. Her areas of responsibility include international affairs, media policy and journalistic ethics.

Anna-Kaisa Oidermaa is a clinical psychologist and managing director of “Peaasjad” – an Estonian NGO working in the field of mental health promotion, prevention, early intervention and reduction of stigma in society.

Maja Sodja is a Slovenian journalist working at POP TV. She has a lot of experience in covering health and health care issues including suicide preventive reporting.

DOCUMENTATION (minutes of discussions) available soon

#JAImpleMENTAL

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