If you live with mental illness, tell the truth about it. If you report on mental illness, watch what you say about it.
This was the core advice from panelists on “Mental health: Reporting beyond the labels” on April 17 at Health Journalism 2009 in Seattle.
“People with mental illness are more likely to be victims than perpetrators,” said Jennifer Stuber, assistant professor of social welfare at the University of Washington. But despite the research, many media depictions of these people continue to promote stereotypes of their being dangerous to themselves and others.
Journalist Hilary Abramson writes about the panel.