Intro + Background

Reporting on Youth Suicide is a new course being offered at the Cronkite School. It will teach
students how to include sensitivity in their reporting tactics while also bringing awareness to the
alarmingly high rate among Arizona students and young veterans.
Over several semesters, various students will do reporting on the issue while practicing what
they’ve learned. The result will be a documentary to air on Cronkite News.
HookedRx is the most recent project of this nature Cronkite news has done. Therefore, it will be
helpful to analyze the media strategies of Hooked.

Governor Ducey was extremely vocal about “HookedRx”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HOLuoHdB7w
School district participation
HookedRx viewership
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AiTdJoiTCk

HookedRx infographics
They employed simple, informative infographics
to precede the documentary, however they did
not circulate as well as perhaps they should have.
This is something the suicide prevention project
can learn from and expand on.

Anything surrounding the topic of suicide tends to

be more hidden than most things despite the
internet making all things more accessible and
decreasing personal privacy. Even positive
aspects about suicide like suicide prevention is a
touchy subject among most people.

The social media for suicide prevention in Arizona

is prevalent, especially in the past year. In 2019
Governor Doug Ducey announced several
suicide-prevention acts for youth that the state will
implement in schools. In September 2019
Governor Ducey announced that September
would be Suicide Prevention Awareness month
and schools would start suicide prevention
trainings.

https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2019/09/governor-ducey-declares-september-teen-
suicide-awareness-month

https://azgovernor.gov/sites/default/files/teen_suicide_prevention_awareness_month_2019_0_0
.pdf

https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2019/05/governor-ducey-signs-bill-combating-teen-
suicide
AFSP Mission
Save Lives and Bring Hope to Those Affected by Suicide

Established in 1987, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is a voluntary
health organization that gives those affected by suicide a nationwide community empowered by
research, education and advocacy to take action against this leading cause of death.

AFSP is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide. AFSP creates
a culture that’s smart about mental health by engaging in the following core strategies:

● Funding scientific research

● Educating the public about mental health and suicide prevention
● Advocating for public policies in mental health and suicide prevention
● Supporting survivors of suicide loss and those affected by suicide in our mission

Led by CEO Robert Gebbia and headquartered in New York, and with a public policy office in
Washington, D.C., AFSP has local chapters in all 50 states with programs and events
nationwide. AFSP celebrates 30 years of service to the suicide prevention movement. Learn
more about AFSP in its latest Annual Report, and join the conversation on suicide prevention by
following AFSP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Facts Sheet - from American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

The Trevor Project LGBTQ Suicide Fact Sheet

There is no fact sheet that is specifically related to this documentary project, but this fact sheet
and organization can be a huge resource to the project with a lot of in-depth information and
statistics on suicide within the LGBTQ community.

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/The-Trevor-Project-National-
Survey-Results-2019.pdf

The link above provides a fact sheet and an depth look into the LGBTQ community and what
suicide looks like within this community. With over 34,000 respondents, it is the largest survey of
LGBTQ youth mental health ever conducted and provides a critical understanding of the
experiences impacting their lives. The survey is the most recent and most up to date information

As of February, there is no actual website that this project has ownership over. Two great
websites that will be great resources will be The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention as
well as The Trevor Project which is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention
and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning
(LGBTQ) young people under 25. Another good local resource is the One-n-Ten which is a
nonprofit organization dedicated to serving and assisting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
and questioning (LGBTQ) youth ages 14 to 24. From weekly discussion groups to fun, social
networking events, we create a safe space, mentally and physically, for youth of all socio-
economic and cultural backgrounds. We also offer resources to promote healthy choices and
living.

One-n-Ten
The One-n-Ten organization is another huge resource on the local side for the LGBT community
to have a safe space where anyone can go and be themselves.

The one-n-ten is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving and assisting lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth ages 14 to 24. From weekly discussion
groups to fun, social networking events, we create a safe space, mentally and physically, for
youth of all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. We also offer resources to promote
healthy choices and living.

Youth with particular needs have the option to speak with peers or volunteers one-on-one, in a
supervised setting. We provide youth with a variety of tools and opportunities to improve self-
esteem and self-acceptance.

Websites
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - https://afsp.org/
One-n-Ten - https://onenten.org/
The Trevor Project - https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
Hooked - https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/hookedrx/

Collateral
One-n-Ten
Suicide Prevention Phone Numbers
911 for Emergencies
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1-800-273-8255
Crisis Text Line - Text HOME to 741-741
Trevor Lifeline - 1-866-488-7386
Trevor Text - Text TREVOR to 1-202-304-1200
Trevor Chat - via thetrevorproject.org
Trans Lifeline 1-877-565-8860
SAGE LGBT Elder Hotline 1-888-234-SAGE

Terminology
Terminology for reporting on suicide is changing. To help remove the stigma and certain
connotations old vocabulary brings, the AFSP provides guidelines for better communicating
suicide as a topic. Language evokes emotion and unconscious responses based on how the
word is used in other contexts. Committed can give a negative connotation (ex. criminals
commit crimes). To remove any negative stigma around suicide, taking away some of the
negative connotation that is associated with words used to talk about suicide will help combat
the taboo.
Suicide can be triggering, and it is a goal of the AFSP to remove the taboo on the topic of
suicide and help people control their triggers. Encouraging the use of language with a neutral
connotation or more normal connotation is a way to change the way people view suicide. When
talking about the topic it is important for those disseminating the information to be aware of the
ways their story can be triggering. The AFSP has tips for anyone publicly speaking about
Suicide:

The AFSP advises those speaking to loved ones to rely on the same tips for sensitivity and
ways to help control triggers and remove some of the stigma surrounding suicide.
Social Media

The AFSP Arizona Twitter has 1,670 followers with low engagement despite consistent content.
The Facebook page has 3,503 likes and 3,564 followers. Its content is more in depth and has a
higher engagement. The website is thorough and has no shortage of information about the
organization and suicide.

The Hooked Rx documentary was advertised on social media but heavily relied on a media
marketing tool which no longer exists. The Twitter hashtag was useful to the campaign and the
documentary was covered by traditional media and overall had successful exposure. Sentiment
among those tweeting about Hooked Rx in December 2016 and January 2017 was majority
neutral according to Meltwater analytics.

Nationwide, trends like #EndtheStigma trend about mental health awareness, mental health
which is often a factor in suicide and its awareness can help bring better suicide prevention.
Utilizing positive trends that relate to suicide prevention to raise suicide prevention awareness
and try to instigate a change in language used when talking about suicide will help talk about
suicide prevention without automatically evoking a negative sentiment because of subject
matter.

In Arizona, ASU, U of A, NAU, and GCU have suicide prevention programs and awareness
campaigns specific to their campuses. They provide students with web pages of information to
help each other with anything surrounding suicide. University wide social medias and more
specific social media handles like health services and clubs occasionally post about suicide
awareness for their students. Statewide K-12 school districts are beginning to implement suicide
prevention trainings for their teachers, nurses, and counselors. Training announcements are
being covered by traditional media and being advertised within community social media
accounts.
Similar Campaigns

Since the topic of suicide is considered very taboo to some being able to open the conversation
in a comfortable situation is the goal. In order to understand how suicide prevention campaigns
are successful, we analyzed HookedRx and the Kevin Hines story to better understand how to
communicate together through this issue.

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication produced an investigative
journalism report on the opioid crisis in Arizona. Now the school is tackling suicide prevention in
Arizona by creating a documentary. One thing this media campaign has is the support from the
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and all the actions he has taken for this rising cause. The
successful campaign from HookedRx is the starting foundation for this suicide prevention
documentary media campaign. HookedRx received a lot of local media coverage. One thing that
this suicide documentary should implement that the HookedRx documentary didn’t heavily do
was tease clips leading up to the premiere of the documentary.

The Kevin Hines Story is a personal story turned into a campaign. Mr. Hines has produced a
bestselling memoir, Cracked Not Broken, Surviving and Thriving After A Suicide Attempt and
a documentary, “Suicide: a ripple effect” about suicide prevention and his experiences. He
attempted suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He is globally known
as a motivational speaker, created a foundation for mental health and suicide prevention. Kevin
is very active on his social platforms by giving motivational daily tips, where he is speaking and
more. He is very humble and blunt when on his social platforms. He is very successful in his
following, activism for people all over the world. This is not a campaign but more so a resource.
As future research, we would like to contact Kevin to ask about his social strategic methods to
be able to implement into the Cronkite suicide prevention documentary media campaign.