media
Help change the way mental health appears on TV!
14 December 2009
Shift has commissioned research into TV portrayals of mental health problems. The researchers want to hear from you about what drama or entertainment programmes in particular you think they should look at. The research is going to be used to persuade programme-makers to portray mental health problems more realistically and avoid relying on stereotypes.
Email antonia.furmston@nmhdu.org.uk with your suggestions. Make sure you include the programme name, what happened, and as much detail as you can about what channel it was on and when it was broadcast.
Also, if you'd like to speak to the researchers as part of their investigation into people's views about TV portrayals, let us know.
Television photograph by Stefan Holodnick. Used under a Creative Commons licence.
Mind Over Matter 2 media research published
15 April 2008
Mind Over Matter 2 is Shift's second report analysing
media reporting of mental illness, following on from
the first report which looked at news coverage in
2005. It serves as a benchmark to show whether
reporting is improving. This report, which looks at
coverage from March and October 2006, shows there is
a long way to go.
A follow up report will be published later in 2008.
Download Mind Over Matter 2 from the Shift Media Network.
Download Mind Over Matter 1 from the Shift Media Network.
Find out more about research commissioned by Shift.
A follow up report will be published later in 2008.
Download Mind Over Matter 2 from the Shift Media Network.
Download Mind Over Matter 1 from the Shift Media Network.
Find out more about research commissioned by Shift.
Shift launches 'What's the Story?'
18 February 2008
Shift has today published a new handbook that will
help the media improve public understanding of mental
illness.
The handbook, 'What's the Story?: Reporting Mental Health and Suicide', gives practical guidance to the media on covering suicide, mental illness and violent crime by psychiatric patients.
It follows a survey which found three out of four people think the media fails to properly inform the public about mental illness.
It focuses particularly on setting rare but sensational murders carried out by a small number of people with mental health problems in a wider context. It is believed that coverage of these cases contributes to the widespread misconception that many people with experience of mental health problems are violent. In fact, millions of people have mental health problems and very few are violent.
The guidance gives journalists advice on how to avoid causing needless offence to the many readers, viewers and listeners affected by mental health problems. It highlights international evidence that careless reporting of suicides triggers copycat suicides and encourages the media to include helpline details - 'sensitive' reporting can literally save lives.
For more information and to download a copy of What's the Story, go here:
http://shift.org.uk/mediahandbook
The handbook, 'What's the Story?: Reporting Mental Health and Suicide', gives practical guidance to the media on covering suicide, mental illness and violent crime by psychiatric patients.
It follows a survey which found three out of four people think the media fails to properly inform the public about mental illness.
It focuses particularly on setting rare but sensational murders carried out by a small number of people with mental health problems in a wider context. It is believed that coverage of these cases contributes to the widespread misconception that many people with experience of mental health problems are violent. In fact, millions of people have mental health problems and very few are violent.
The guidance gives journalists advice on how to avoid causing needless offence to the many readers, viewers and listeners affected by mental health problems. It highlights international evidence that careless reporting of suicides triggers copycat suicides and encourages the media to include helpline details - 'sensitive' reporting can literally save lives.
For more information and to download a copy of What's the Story, go here:
http://shift.org.uk/mediahandbook
