The Bridgend Suicides Suicide and the Media

This in depth analysis looks at how suicide was represented in the British press when 20 young people between the ages of 15 and 29 took their own lives in the South Wales Borough of Bridgend in 2008.

'Journalists and media practitioners worldwide should read this significant book on suicide. Ann Luce draws on an insightful media analysis of the tragic 2008 deaths by suicide at Bridgend in South Wales, and on her own journalistic practice, to explore the social, cultural and ethical dimensions of this continuing global health issue. This important work is a timely reminder of the responsibilities of the media in health reporting and communication.– Emeritus Professor R. Warwick Blood, University of Canberra, Australia.
' The Bridgend Suicides offers a compelling account of how local press reporting of a succession of suicides by children and young people in Bridgend in 2008, created a feeding frenzy in national and international news media. Ann Luce, a journalist turned academic, offers a meticulously detailed, rare and extremely valuable case study of journalists’ framing of suicide, newspapers’ sensationalist coverage,and how both militate against public understanding of this significant issue for health and social policy. Written with compassion and academic rigour, The Bridgend Suicides is an important book for students, scholars and lay readers alike. Its contribution to the literatures of Journalism and Media Studies is substantial. It risks becoming a classic text; and deservedly so.– Professor Bob Franklin, The Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Wales.
This in depth analysis looks at how suicide was represented in the British press when 20 young people between the ages of 15 and 29 took their own lives in the South Wales Borough of Bridgend in 2008. The chapters highlight specific categories of description that journalists use to explain suicide to their readers. The study also examines the discourses that emerged around suicide that continue to perpetuate stigma and shame when suicide occurs today. Using her own experience of having lost a loved one to suicide, coupled with original research, the author gives a very frank explanation of why suicide is not accepted in society today.


This in depth analysis looks at how suicide was represented in the British press when 20 young people between the ages of 15 and 29 took their own lives in the South Wales Borough of Bridgend in 2008. The chapters highlight specific categories of description that journalists use to explain suicide to their readers. The study also examines the discourses that emerged around suicide that continue to perpetuate stigma and shame when suicide occurs today. Using her own experience of having lost a loved one to suicide, coupled with original research, the author gives a very frank explanation of why suicide is not accepted in society today.