The Hunter Institute of Mental Health, which manages Mindframe, partnered with R U OK? in 2016 to evaluate the quality of broadcast media reporting from last year’s campaign. A summary of findings has been developed. The full report will be released in early October 2016 at www.mindframe-media.info

1. R U OK?Day Media Monitoring

2. R U OK?Day Broadcast Media
Monitoring Study Snapshot
• The Hunter Institute of Mental Health, which manages Mindframe,
partnered with R U OK? in 2016 to evaluate the quality of broadcast
media reporting from last year’s campaign.
• The majority of media broadcasts during R U OK?Day 2015 scored
more than 90% in quality rating against the Mindframe guidelines
for reporting suicide.
• A similar study in 2008 (not related to R U OK?Day), recorded a
quality rating of around 75%.

3. • The latest results appear to show campaigns can improve
media reporting when working closely with Mindframe.
• Mindframe and R U OK? have worked together since 2010.
• R U OK? also plan to build on the findings, with improved
promotion of language use and types of help-seeking in the
media.

4. Type of content
0 50 100
TV
Radio
Type of Content for TV and Radio (%)

5. Quality ratings
Reports were consistent with Mindframe advice,
including no use of:
 Terms that sensationalise suicide and mental
illness
 Negative labels describing individuals
experiencing suicide and mental illness
 Images that may inadvertently glorify death.

6. No
Yes
Adding help-seeking information
Less than half of reports promoted
help-seeking.
Yes
No
Use ‘committed’ suicide
Hardly any broadcasts stigmatised suicide
by using the term ‘committed’ in their
reports.

7. Sensationalist reporting
Almost 100% of reports were consistent
with Mindframe.
Reporting correct statistics
Nearly all statistics reported were
accurate, with just two instances where
they were incorrect.
Yes
No
Yes
No

8. Methods and location
No
Yes Explicit description of suicide method
Descriptions of suicide method were rare,
with only three broadcasts (3%) containing
reference to explicit methods.
No
Yes
Specific details of suicide location
Reports containing the location were
also uncommon, with less than 1%
including specific details on suicide
location.

9. Quality rating scale

10. Quality scores
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Proportionofbroadcastitems(%)
Number of dimensions consistent with Mindframe
TV
Radio

11. Factors associated with quality
reporting
Logistic Regression indicated that reports were
significantly more likely to score high quality if they were:
 Radio broadcasts
 Did not reference celebrity mental health or suicide
 Featured an R U OK? employee.

12. Acknowledgement
This study has been undertaken
by the Hunter Institute of
Mental Health in partnership
with R U OK?
Broadcasts analysed for this
study were provided courtesy of
Isentia.