Journalism Cases from Canada

The first piece of the puzzle was to examine why this particular story was in the public interest. 

The CBC’s statement of journalistic standards and practices  states: “Our mission is to inform, to reveal, to contribute to the understanding of issues of public interest and to encourage citizens to participate in a free and democratic society.”¹“Journalistic Standards and Practices,” CBC Radio Canada,.https://cbc.radio-canada.ca/en/vision/governance/journalistic-standards-and-practices

But how exactly do you determine what is of public interest?

An individual suicide on its own may not be newsworthy, but in this case it involves an exceptionally public setting — the largest public transit system in Canada. Its average daily rail transit ridership on a business day in 2019 was 942,000 people.²2019 Operating Statistics,” Toronto Transit Commission, .https://www.ttc.ca/transparency-and-accountability/Operating-Statistics/Operating-Statistics—2019

In 2017, the TTC said 19 people died by suicide in its sysem and another 26 attempted to take their own lives.³News Staff and the Canadian Press. “TTC offering help to those who witness subway suicide,”Citynews Everywhere 10 Sep. 2019. Online. https://toronto.citynews.ca/2019/09/10/ttc-offering-help-to-those-who-witness-suicides-on-subways/Suicide has tremendous effects on not only victims and their families but also the people who bear witness. “TTC is a public transportation system. The effect of people taking their lives or attempting to take their lives has bystander trauma,” Roumeliotis said. In 2017, the TTC said 19 people died by suicide in its sysem and another 26 attempted to take their own lives.⁴ News Staff and the Canadian Press. “TTC offering help to those who witness subway suicide,”Citynews Everywhere, 10 Sep. 2019. Online. https://toronto.citynews.ca/2019/09/10/ttc-offering-help-to-those-who-witness-suicides-on-subways/ 

Roumeliotis also considered the economic fallout of TTC suicides and resulting delays. Looking at the city as a whole, she says that delays cause people to arrive late or to miss work, creating an economic loss for everyone involved. 

“These are the colder calculations,” Roumeliotis said. “And then on the other spectrum there is the mental trauma of the bystander and the much more severe mental health trauma on the operator who is running that train.”

“These are the colder calculations,” Roumeliotis said. “And then on the other spectrum there is the mental trauma of the bystander and the much more severe mental health trauma on the operator who is running that train.”

Listen to Ioanna Roumelitious discuss this as a matter in the public interest. 

Read the transcript

Despite their confidence that this subject matter was in the public interest, Roumeliotis and her team would soon run into roadblocks. When they reached out to mental-health and suicide- prevention experts in March and April of 2019, some to be interviewed–or even to discuss the matter off the record. 

With experts telling them it would be irresponsible to write about public suicide, the team paused to reconsider if they were doing the right thing. They had to decide if this story’s value was enough to outweigh its risks. 

Next: 2. Contagion Theory and a Reporting Taboo