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The coverage of psychiatry in the Irish print media

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

David Meagher*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin 7, Republic of Ireland
Alison Newman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin 7, Republic of Ireland
Margaret Fee
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin 7, Republic of Ireland
Patricia Casey
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin 7, Republic of Ireland
*
Correspondence
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Abstract

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The frequency and content of articles of psychiatric interest in the Irish print media were investigated. Issues of psychiatric interest were commonly featured. Contrary to popular opinion most articles are either supportive or neutral in tone. Where negative imagery occurred it was more frequently associated with articles in the tabloid papers. Mental health professionals, in particular psychiatrists, contributed very little towards articles of psychiatric interest (especially in the tabloid press) and need to become more actively involved in shaping the portrayal of mental illness in the print media. Their involvement is associated with a more positive portrayal of psychiatry.

Type
Psychiatry and the Media
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1995

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