Can anyone give any validity to this?

[atxgun]

http://www.yelp.com/topic/austin-anyone ... is-morning" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Can't find any local news stories reporting on it.

[seamusTX]

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/ ... oting.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No further news at this time.

- Jim

[quidni]

The local media here have a policy of not reporting attempted/successful suicides. At most, it may get a sentence or two in an obscure corner of a back page.... the reason given is that they "don't want to sensationalize suicide" and potentially cause copycat attempts.

[atxgun]

The local media here have a policy of not reporting attempted/successful suicides. At most, it may get a sentence or two in an obscure corner of a back page.... the reason given is that they "don't want to sensationalize suicide" and potentially cause copycat attempts.

Yet the media has no problem reporting the mass shooting when they take place. They don't seem too worried about copy cats there.

[ELB]

I'll swear I saw a post on this earlier today on TexasCHLforum.com, but darned if I can find it now... I did read of it today, tho, including a link or copy of a news article. ??

[quidni]

The local media here have a policy of not reporting attempted/successful suicides. At most, it may get a sentence or two in an obscure corner of a back page.... the reason given is that they "don't want to sensationalize suicide" and potentially cause copycat attempts.

Yet the media has no problem reporting the mass shooting when they take place. They don't seem too worried about copy cats there.

Hey, I didn't claim they were logical.

[seamusTX]

The earlier discussion is here, such as it is: http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... 10&t=23540" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Suicide or attempted suicide is a touchy subject for the press. An apparent suicide is not really a suicide until the medical examiner rules it as such. It could be a homicide, accident, or medical event. Attempted suicide is not subject to any official confirmation. A newspaper that reports it incorrectly is open to lawsuits for defamation or causing emotional distress to the family.

I'm not judging whether such lawsuits are reasonable, but they are a hassle for the newspaper.

You'll notice that statements in articles like the one under discussion contain a lot of terms like "police said" and "reportedly."

Also, suicide is not a crime. It is no more the public's business than someone dying of a stroke or heart attack.

- Jim

[ELB]

Also, suicide is not a crime. It is no more the public's business than someone dying of a stroke or heart attack.

- Jim

Which in fact are perfectly reportable, non-criminal, public news events, especially when they happen in the public arena. It's just that most of them are not unusual enough to get noticed. It does not have to be a crime to be reported. Suicides are relatively rare enough, and tragic enough, that they garner attention. Don't know if this particular incident was a suicide, but if in fact the women went to a shooting range (a public venue) and rented a gun to try to kill herself, that would certainly (and thankfully) be rare enough to be news. First time I've heard of it anyway.

[seamusTX]

It's always interesting (at least to me) to discuss what is considered newsworthy.

Crimes are always in the public domain because they are prosecuted by the state. Also, if the perpetrator is not apprehended, the public continues to be at risk from that particular criminal.

There are a bit fewer than 100 suicides a day in the U.S. Most affect only the family and friends of the deceased and are not covered at all. Suicides are considered newsworthy when the deceased is famous or notorious, or the method is unusual.

Women have a much lower suicide rate than men in the U.S., and they use firearms less often. That makes this incident more newsworthy. However, what is anyone going to do with the information?

This type of suicide with a rented firearm occurs about once a year. I also recall one case where a woman went to a gun store, asked to see a gun, dropped a round in the chamber, and killed herself. IIRC she was the mother of one of the students killed in the Columbine massacre.

- Jim

[seamusTX]

On a related issue, consider the boy who was killed while firing a submachine gun in Massachusetts last year.

Deaths by automatic weapons fire are extremely rare in the U.S. There probably isn't more than one in five or ten years. Deaths at shooting ranges are also rare. So the combination can be considered newsworthy in that respect.

However, the discussion of that incident usually overlooks the number of deaths of children in vehicle crashes (the leading cause of death for children), bicycle and skateboard accidents, and drowning.

- Jim

[Keith B]

This is not all that uncommon. Here are several links to suicides at gun ranges

http://www.kbtx.com/news/headlines/7986702.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.gunguys.com/?p=1439" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/200903 ... /903029985" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This one was in Houston last year http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 1e026.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and the link to the Thread here http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... 7&p=145937" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are plenty of others, including a couple of 'accidental' shootings that seem a little odd like the person was trying to make it look like an accident, but was really a suicide.

[seamusTX]

Don't go to the gunguys web site unless you have taken your blood-pressure medication and maybe a tranquilizer.

I need to put this fact on the record every time this issue comes up: For every death or injury due to suicide or criminal use of firearms, thousands of crimes are prevented (most without a shot being fired) and billions of rounds are fired legally with no injury or damage.

- Jim

[Oldgringo]

seamus wrote"

It's always interesting (at least to me) to discuss what is considered newsworthy.

Wasn't it Horace Greeley who told the cub reporter, "When a dog bites a man, that's not news. When a man bites a dog, that is news". IOW, bad news sells papers and also provides TV newscasters a living.

[seamusTX]

... bad news sells papers and also provides TV newscasters a living.

The flip side of that is that people relish bad news. They gawk at vehicle crashes and spread bad news through the rumor mill.

There was a vehicle crash in this county that killed one high school student and put two others in intensive care. I read in the paper this morning that rumors were circulating through the high school that another girl had died, though she is actually recovering.

http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewc ... 62367ceaba" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The moral of this story is that people invent their own bad news more often than newspapers and TV stations -- though the media do in fact sometimes invent bad news.

- Jim