Por quê? : uma análise dos discursos sobre suicídio no jornalismo diário

Abstract

Suicide is still considered a taboo in society. Health agencies often seek assistance from diverse sectors of society to change people's perception of suicide, including the field of communications. The reasoning is simple. Broadening the discussion of the issue can create a path to prevention. Based on this assumption, we contextualize suicide and the complexity of this act against life itself based on the studies of Durkheim (2011) and Botega (2015). And we reflect on journalistic content about suicide by focusing on the axes of social responsibility (BELTRÃO, 1994; CHAPARRO, 1994) and ethics (BUCCI, 2000; KARAM, 2004; CHRISTOFOLETTI, 2008). Aware of the complexity of this topic, we propose to analyze materials by following the indicated paths of Discursive Textual Analysis (MORAES; GALIAZZI, 2007). As an object, we chose content published in Folha de S. Paulo, due to the newspaper’s significance within Brazilian media. Based on a review of the literature and analysis of the empirical material, we identified that the issue of suicide is present in the news, overcoming possible taboos that it should not be reported by the media. In addition, we have observed that different discourses emanate from voluntary death. Some of them are more welcoming and focus on prevention, while others focus on the criminality of the act. We further identified that in promoting an adequate discussion about suicide, journalism will, in addition to collaborate with prevention, reinforce its relevance in the social context.