EDITORIAL - Caution and responsibility

As far as Cebu City Councilor Prisca Niña Mabatid, mainstream and social media should refrain from reporting incidents of suicide, saying there is a need to keep such news away from the masses so as not to influence other people.

For the neophyte council member, using the Cebu Press Freedom Week celebration as a perfect venue to discuss suicide reporting, media should consider a news blackout on suicide incidents because such conduct can motivate others to imitate.

“I understand that among our charges as members of this Sanggunian is the preservation and acknowledgment of our media’s right to freedom of the press. But, in our haste to protect such right, we risk the lives of the Cebuano youth that’s why I am appealing to the media of Cebu city not to publish any suicide cases in any form of media for the very reason that it is influencing children to consider suicide as a solution to their problems,” Mabatid said as reported by this paper.

Of course, Mabatid’s concern about the grave effects of suicide cases to others is understandable. While she recognizes media freedom, the councilor is appealing to journalists to refrain from publishing stories on suicide cases.

However, the good councilor should not have to worry about how media handles cases of suicide. A responsible journalist would always see to it he follows the policies on how to go about any story on suicide incidents.

Aside from those imposed by authorities, legitimate media outlets have their own rules in handling sensitive stories such as those involving suicides and abuses against women and children. And such duty includes not only the need to protect the lives of the victims and their families but to see to it these stories have minimal impact on other lives as well.

A suicide incident involving a scion of a prominent family is hard to keep. There will always be a story on it as part of the media’s duty to inform the public. But there is of course a need for journalists to exercise caution and have a sense of responsibility in their stories.