Journalist urges media colleagues to ‘red card’ suicide language

Monday, January 6th, 2014

Popular and sometimes controversial sports journalist, Doug Golightly has begun the new year with an appeal for New Zealanders to take seriously the country’s suicide epidemic.

Urging his media colleagues to “red card” references to suicide, Golightly cited an incident from the Ashes Test, when Shane Warne commented that a run-out had been ‘suicidal’.

“It’s sickening how often the term is used in this context,” Golightly, a keen cricketer wrote.

“Our family was devastated by a suicide last year and I didn’t want to keep sidestepping an issue that effects at least 10 families a week,” Golightly told CathNews.

“We can’t keep looking the other way”, he said.

Writing on Facebook, Golightly noted in the year to June 2013, sadly, around 540 people had taken their own lives and current statistics suggest a similar number will do similarly this year.

Golightly laments the issue of suicide seems to have been taken for granted in New Zealand, and he says it’s not good enough.

Talking with CathNews, he said, “We need to make a difference; we need to highlight this issue and I am searching for a tangible way of making a start; of taking a stand.”

Recalling the Steinlager Rugby Awards in December last year, Golightly was surprised to hear referee of the year, Chris Pollock, flippantly say that Ireland coach Joe Schmidt looked as though he’d “hang himself” after the last minute win by the All Blacks in Dublin.

“It showed a lack of understanding, compassion and common sense”, Golightly said.

Golightly is appealing to people to change their own language, and when they hear someone use terms such as ‘suicide’ and ‘hang’ to ask the person who made the remark to think again about their choice of words.

He also suggests if people hear it on radio or TV then note it on FaceBook, Twitter or some other social media platform.

Golightly says the language restrictions do not only apply to a sporting context.

“The same goes for the term ‘political suicide’ to describe some indiscretion or stuff-up made by one of our many politicians.”

“It’s not appropriate or relevant”, he wrote.

Asking his media colleagues to make a difference, he received immediate endorsement by comedian Mike King.

TV3 and Radio Live sports personality, Hamish McKay also responded on Facebook, inviting Golightly to open his first 2014 Radio Live show.

Sources