Celebrity Suicide as Opportunity for Public Education: Reference to Professional Medical Sources and Themes in U.S. Press Coverage Following the Suicide of CNN Food Expert, Anthony Bourdain
Abstract
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. Despite its prevalence, suicide is not a topic that is often discussed due to stigma and emotional pain associated with it. Much information that the public receives about suicide is provided by professional news outlets, especially when celebrities die of suicide. As such, it is important to not only understand what journalists report about suicide, but also the credibility of their sources. This study examines themes and sources evident in news coverage of the suicide of well-known food writer and television presenter, Anthony Bourdain. Research questions address thematic content of news features, professional sourcing among the features, and whether there is an overall metanarrative constructed by the news features. The analysis consisted of thematic coding, using two independent coders for reliability. Consistent patterns emphasize two distinct narratives present among the news features in the week following the death of Anthony Bourdain (a public health narrative and a personal narrative). Over time, the public health narrative became more pronounced as the personal narrative subsided. Although the temporal relationship between narrative arcs likely represents journalistic production routine, it is also interesting to reflect upon the way that time and narrative parallels immediate shock followed by eventual sensemaking phases when an individual learns of the suicide of another person. The dual news cycle thus represents a macro/societal platform, dramatizing on a mass scale the same process experienced at the level of the individual. While this line of thinking is only speculative, it does reflect research conducted on narrative as mediated ritual. This research was supported by a RISE grant.
Keywords
suicide, journalism, narrative
Celebrity Suicide as Opportunity for Public Education: Reference to Professional Medical Sources and Themes in U.S. Press Coverage Following the Suicide of CNN Food Expert, Anthony Bourdain
CASB 104
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. Despite its prevalence, suicide is not a topic that is often discussed due to stigma and emotional pain associated with it. Much information that the public receives about suicide is provided by professional news outlets, especially when celebrities die of suicide. As such, it is important to not only understand what journalists report about suicide, but also the credibility of their sources. This study examines themes and sources evident in news coverage of the suicide of well-known food writer and television presenter, Anthony Bourdain. Research questions address thematic content of news features, professional sourcing among the features, and whether there is an overall metanarrative constructed by the news features. The analysis consisted of thematic coding, using two independent coders for reliability. Consistent patterns emphasize two distinct narratives present among the news features in the week following the death of Anthony Bourdain (a public health narrative and a personal narrative). Over time, the public health narrative became more pronounced as the personal narrative subsided. Although the temporal relationship between narrative arcs likely represents journalistic production routine, it is also interesting to reflect upon the way that time and narrative parallels immediate shock followed by eventual sensemaking phases when an individual learns of the suicide of another person. The dual news cycle thus represents a macro/societal platform, dramatizing on a mass scale the same process experienced at the level of the individual. While this line of thinking is only speculative, it does reflect research conducted on narrative as mediated ritual. This research was supported by a RISE grant.