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Originalia

Mediale Berichterstattung über den Suizid von Robert Enke

Published Online:July 31, 2013https://doi.org/10.1026/0943-8149/a000096

Abstract

Medienberichte über den Suizid prominenter Personen sind mit einem Folgeanstieg der populationsbezogenen Suizidrate assoziiert. Von verschiedenen Organisationen wurden daher Leitfäden für die mediale Berichterstattung über Suizide vorgelegt. In der vorliegenden Untersuchung wurde am Beispiel des Suizids von Robert Enke († 2009) untersucht, inwieweit diese Medienempfehlungen in Deutschland umgesetzt wurden. Analysiert wurden sämtliche Artikel, die im Monat nach Enkes Suizid in zehn der auflagenstärksten deutschen Zeitungen und Zeitschriften publiziert wurden. Insgesamt konnten 169 Artikel identifiziert werden. Die Inhaltsanalyse verweist darauf, dass Medienempfehlungen zur Berichterstattung über Suizide im Fall von Robert Enke nur unzureichend berücksichtigt wurden: 77,5 % der Artikel wiesen mindestens ein Merkmal unangemessener Berichterstattung auf und 51,5 % der Artikel wiesen kein Merkmal präventiver Berichterstattung auf. Im Rahmen einer Clusteranalyse ließen sich fünf Berichterstattungsmuster identifizieren, die sich in ihrer inhaltlichen Ausrichtung und im Ausmaß, in dem präventive Inhalte präsentiert werden, deutlich voneinander unterscheiden. Berichte in der Boulevardpresse unterschieden sich nur geringfügig von Artikeln in anderen Zeitungen. Praktische Implikationen des Befundmusters werden diskutiert.


Media coverage on the suicide of Robert Enke

Media reports about celebrity suicides are associated with an increase in nationwide suicide rates. Various organizations have therefore developed media guidelines for the coverage of suicide. In the current analysis, adherence to these guidelines is evaluated for the suicide of Robert Enke († 2009)–a well-known German football player. We analyzed 169 articles published in ten German newspapers with a high circulation in the month following the suicide of Enke. Results show that adherence to media guidelines was low in the case of Robert Enke: 77.5 % of the articles displayed features of inadequate media reporting and 51.5 % of the articles displayed no feature of preventive media reporting. A cluster-analysis identified five types of media reports, which differed in content and amount of preventive reporting. Articles in the tabloids were only marginally different from articles in other newspapers. Practical implications of these findings are discussed.

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