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There has been a debate about the suitability of different narratives in educative suicide prevention materials. Whereas some suicide prevention experts recommend raising awareness of suicide by highlighting its prevalence, others argue that this approach may normalize suicide and advocate focusing on help resources instead. Unfortunately, empirical evidence regarding this question is lacking. This randomized controlled trial aimed to test the impact of educative news articles that conveyed different narratives of suicide prevention. One article focused on the prevalence of suicide, one article highlighted professional help resources, and one article emphasized on how everyone can help to prevent suicide. We randomized n = 334 participants to read either one of these three articles or an article unrelated to suicide. Data on suicidal ideation, stigmatizing attitudes toward suicidal individuals, attitudes toward suicide prevention, and help-seeking intentions were collected with questionnaires, and implicit measures were used to assess participants' mental accessibility of concepts related to suicide and suicide prevention. Participants exposed to the article highlighting the high prevalence of suicide tended to show a higher accessibility of potentially detrimental cognitive concepts related to suicide. In contrast, the accessibility of the concept of "helping" and that "suicide is preventable" was higher in participants' memory when exposed to materials focusing on help. It seems that the impact of educative suicide awareness materials on readers' access to suicide- and suicide-prevention-related concepts in memory varied depending on the narrative featured in the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The media are assumed to play a key role in democratization. Much of the available evidence on the media's role in democratic transitions is based on a comparative and global perspective, focusing on rather recent key political events. Although democratization is conceptualized as a process that occurs over a long time, there is limited longitudinal evidence. Focusing on Austria, we used a long-term macrolevel perspective ranging from 1816 to 1932, including the transition from authoritarian rule (monarchy) to democracy (republic). Grounded in previous research on the demonstration effect, we investigated whether the press contributed to democratization processes. Contentanalytic data on the Vienna-based press were used to assess the salience of the idea of democracy in the press for each year of the observation period: How much did the press report on democratic ideals, such as freedom or equality? The level of democratization was assessed using three available longitudinal measures of democratization. Using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) modeling to account for autocorrelation and the trend in the time series, we show that there was a covariation between increases in the salience of the idea of democracy in the press and increases in the level of democratization. Furthermore, we found that a higher salience of the idea of democracy in the press in a given year "Granger-caused" (i.e. prospectively predicted) future increases in the level of democratization. Although we acknowledge the limitations in terms of causal interpretations, these findings are consistent with the idea of a longterm macro-level media effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The press may have contributed to suicide as a mass phenomenon during the nineteenth century. There is limited knowledge on how the press reported on suicide. We utilized a content analysis of suicide news during the time period of suicide rate's strong increase in Austria (1855, 1865, 1875, 1885), assessing variables related to the responsible reporting on suicide (RRS). Analyses indicate that the press showed low levels of RRS and the quantity of low-quality reporting increased during the observation period. Although causal claims should be made with caution, the findings are consistent with the idea of a long-term Werther effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media consumers often lack the motivation, time, or cognitive capacity to select content in a deliberate way; instead, they opt for mental shortcuts. Brands are important in this regard because they simplify decision making. In the present study we investigated whether attitudes toward news media brands predict news choice. It is important that we conceptualized attitudes on two different levels: Although explicit attitudes are defined as overtly expressed, more or less deliberate evaluations, implicit attitudes are defined as automatically activated, gut-level evaluations. The supplementary use of implicit attitudes is consistent with current theorizing highlighting that deeply held and sometimes even unconscious evaluations influence media choice. Using a web-based study, we found that implicit and explicit attitudes toward television brands predicted choice. Each attitude construct predicted variance beyond that predicted by the other. We discuss implications by emphasizing the role of automatic, gut-level decision making in current high-choice media environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated the chronology of media attention, public attention, and actual vaccinations during a recent measles outbreak in Austria. The analysis indicated that initial news coverage about the measles outbreak (the first wave of media attention) sparked public attention and led to additional heavy news coverage about measles (the second wave of media attention). The observed patterns of public and media attention reflect typical issue-attention cycles, as revealed by previous research. As a supplement to previous studies, the present study links media and public attention with a consecutive increase in the number of vaccinations, thereby supporting the notion of an issue-attention-action cycle. Additional curve-fitting analyses showed that the day-by-day variations in media and public attention resembled sharp, short-term "spotlight effects," whereas consequences on vaccination behavior represented a broader, long-term "echo effect." Above and beyond the theoretical contributions, we discuss practical implications: Surveilling the development of media and public attention in the immediate aftermath of a measles outbreak may be a cost-effective strategy to predict future patient load, thereby helping to effectively allocate resources for vaccination programs. A thorough understanding of the issue-attention-action cycle contributes to this aim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale. Measles is a highly contagious disease that is responsible for about 110,000 annual deaths worldwide, even though a safe, effective, and inexpensive vaccine is available. Given that full vaccination coverage is below the desired threshold in many countries, increasing the vaccination coverage is an important public health goal, aiming to contribute to a reduction of measles deaths. Objective. This study investigates the dynamics between media and public attention on measles and vaccination coverage during the 2015 measles outbreak in Berlin, Germany. It was hypothesized that the epicentral distance would influence the observed effects of the outbreak on public attention due to a higher perceived threat susceptibility in more proximal states. Method. Using observational macro-level data from German federal states, the study taps into news-stimulated public-attention dynamics around the outbreak. We assessed public attention, media attention, and vaccination coverage among 24-month-old children. Results. Findings indicate that public attention increased exponentially as the epicentral distance lessened. Distance mattered more in states surrounding Berlin—a discovery we termed the "Rubicon effect." Importantly, within a small radius of the epicenter, the decay in public attention was slower, and higher rates of public attention were related to an increase in vaccination coverage among children aged 24 months. Conclusions. Given that full vaccination coverage for measles (after receiving the second dose) is below the desired value in Germany (and many other countries), the observed increase in vaccination coverage, in response to news-stimulated increases in public attention, can be deemed a beneficial public health outcome. The findings, including the Rubicon effect, are discussed in light of optimal resource allocation for vaccination programs. • A German measles outbreak stimulated media and public attention on the issue. • The increase in public attention was exponentially related to epicentral distance. • Proximal states showed higher public attention: the "Rubicon effect.". • Higher public attention in the epicenter predicted increased vaccination coverage. • Measuring public attention may improve resource allocation for vaccination programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]