Risky News, Madness and Public Crisis: a Case Study of the Reporting and Portrayal of Mental Health and Illness in the Australian Press

This authors investigate the central role of news frames in constructing risk knowledge for newspaper readers, by examining all news & feature stories, editorials & letters to the editor on mental health & illness (including suicide) during December 2001 & January 2002 reported in 2 Australian newspapers. A number of case studies are used for new-frame analysis, including several cases of psychiatric patients who absconded from psychiatric hospitals & attempted suicide. (37 refs)