Veterans in the media: Assessing Canadian newspaper coverage of the Lionel Desmond murder-suicide

Abstract

LAY SUMMARY The media can shape the opinions, beliefs, and attitudes of the public towards Veterans, Veterans’ issues, and Veteran suicide. Given the Lionel Desmond murder-suicide was covered extensively in Canadian media, the authors read and analyzed the tone and content of Canadian newspaper coverage of this incident, using social science methods. On the one hand, the authors found the media sometimes violated some of the best practice guidelines about how to responsibly report suicide and mental health when writing about the Lionel Desmond incident, for example, rarely including help-seeking information. On the other hand, journalists typically wrote about this incident in compassionate terms, calling for more action to help Veterans’ mental health, as well as more support for Veterans who are in transition to civilian life. In sum, the study reveals that much media coverage of the Lionel Desmond incident adhered to reporting guidelines, but there also remains room for improvement. The results indicate a need for more educational resources and better outreach to help Canadian journalists responsibly report issues around Veterans’ mental health and Veteran suicide.

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