Topic Tuesday **happening now**: The media and mental health

[Former-Member]

Language tends to be so difficult... Different groups of people, ages, ethnicity, geo graphical area... Defining what language is going to best to use and not discriminatory is such a varied problem. Even as some people felt the term 'mental as' being wrong perhaps to younger people it grabs attention in a thought provoking way..?

[Sienna]

I think that a good portrayal of mental illness would be one where someone is having a mental health problem, they come and have treatment and they get better.  Where it gets treated like any other condition. 

[Former-Member]

I definitely do @Sienna and I think I have been surprised by the amount of journos I talk to who also have very personal experience with mental illness or suicide. For example one journalist at The Age I was advising (he had written a story about suicide) had experience even in his own family of this. It can be extremely stressfull and upsetting for a journalist to learn that they've over-stepped the guidelines when they have personal experience. That's why I think it pays for us to remember that "the media" are made up of individuals who are all different and have varying experience like you or I.

@CherryBomb the table I posted is a handy guide that we give to journos on language. There is still a lot to debate though.

@CannonSalt pleasure to be here! Do you mean how we interpret articles? Or how the journalists/media themselves interpret their own articles/self reflect

[CherryBomb]

@chookmojo come to think of it, I reckon there has been a change in advertising that type of 'mad' talk is a lot less these days, though there's still a bit. 

@kato I'm not sure if there's been a rise - perhaps @Former-Member might know some facts and stats in regards to adds and news coverage? In my own perspective, I feel like I see the repition of same stories on certain news outlets - another day, another crime by some with MI or a D&A issue.  But there are also news outlets that are making some great changes.

[Former-Member]

@kato @CherryBomb there hasn't been enough research on this to quantify it. Although research by a Melbourne academic Perkis showed that on the whole Australian media had become more responsible in their reporting over the years the study took into account.

[Former-Member]

Here is the link if you're interested @kato or @CherryBomb http://www.mindframe-media.info/for-media/reporting-suicide/evidence-and-research/media-monitoring-s...

[CannonSalt]

@Former-Member , I meant how a reader can interpret an article on MI, although the self-reflection aspect sounds really interesting as well - particularly with what you've said about journalists with experience with mental illness or suicide.

[Former-Member]

Annecdotally @chookmojo @CherryBomb through StigmaWatch, over the years we tend to get less and less reports of advertising that stigmatises mental illness fortunately.

[CherryBomb]

Some great responses about how mental illness should be reported - from what everyone wrote, it seems like it is not an easy job! 

I guess one thing that comes to mind is that community expectations are always changing. As @chookmojo mentioned, it is improving, and it is changing. We have seen it with other social issues. I wonder how we will view today's media coverage of MI in 20 years or so...

[Former-Member]

@CannonSalt good question! I would look for the source of their information- how did they come to that conclusion? Would it be different if there was another source they were aware of? Who is being quoted in the article and what interests/information/bias might they have in relation to mental illness?

I find that puts the information displayed into perspective. You know everyone you can also contact journalists directly and give them feedback in a constructive way that changes the way they report.

There is a regular StigmaWatcher I know who sends polite and constructive emails to journos at The Age and the ABC with evidence attached to support what he is saying and always gets good responses!