The Press Coverage of Celebrity Suicide and the Development of Suicide Frequencies in Germany

The existence of the so-called "Werther effect" is well confirmed, and there are several recommendations on how the media should (not) report suicide to minimize the risk of copycat behavior. Unfortunately, very little is known about how suicide is actually reported. The article examines the German press coverage of six celebrity suicides with respect to compliance with guidelines on suicide reporting and analyzes changes in suicides in the wake of the reporting. It concludes that German media do not respect the recommendations in a substantial number of their articles. In addition, a significant increase in suicides and similar suicides is found.