Does the Use of Psychiatrists as Sources of Information Improve Media Depictions of Mental Illness? A Pilot Study

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine whether mental illnesses are depicted in less negative ways in print media when psychiatrists rather than lay persons are the source of information. Method: Seven items from a special report on mental health, four derived from lay sources and three from psychiatrists, were subjected to a discourse analysis informed by knowledge of media practices. Results: The psychiatrists were clearly distinguished and deployed as experts in contrast to lay sources. Two of the psychiatrists presented mental illnesses in less negative ways than in the other items. These more positive depictions were undermined by the devices that the journalists used to give authority to the portrayals of mental illness and by the need to create ‘newsworthy’ items. Conclusion: If psychiatrists and other mental health professionals are to have a positive effect on how media depict mental illness, they will have to develop closer relationships with journalists and a better appreciation of media priorities and practices.