Ann Luce
Overview
Position:
PhD Research
Email:
LuceA@cardiff.ac.ukTelephone: +44(0)29 208 75688
Fax: N/A
Extension: 75688
Location: Room 1.24, Bute Building
'Yea thou I walk through the Valley of Death': A tale of Bridgend and what it tells us about childhood suicide
When suicide hits the headlines, not far behind are the critics who blame the media for sensationalistic coverage. This was never more true than in the case of Bridgend. The 23 suicides in Bridgend County in Wales made national and international headlines.
The media, looking for someone to blame quickly, pointed towards the Internet, linking Bebo and Facebook as catalysts for the formation of ‘suicide clubs’ and ‘suicide pacts’. Parents and police were quick to fire back, claiming it was the media coverage of the event that created this ‘suicide epidemic’, and if coverage ceased, then so too would the suicides.
This thesis looks at the newspaper coverage of the Bridgend County suicides in 12 English and Welsh publications from January 2008-June 2008, where I tease the discourses surrounding suicide, but also analyse them in reference to three childhood suicides that came before them, starting in 2004. Specifically, I look at press ideologies, framing and sourcing in suicide stories.
I also address media power and passive-audience reception theory. With that in mind, I attempt to contribute to the suicide literature, by debunking the Werther Effect for which much of my future research will be based.
Supervisor: Dr. Cynthia Carter
Teaching
Spring 2009- Media Power and the Public Sphere, Module Co-ordinator, Kerry Moore
Autumn 2008- Media Scholarship, Module Co-ordinator: Claire Wardle
Spring 2008- Media and the Public Sphere, Module Co-ordinators, Cynthia Carter and Kerry Moore
Autumm 2007- Academic Study, Module Co-ordinator, John Jewell
Spring 2007- Textual Analysis, Module Co-ordinators, Matt Hills and Paul Mason
Autumn 2006- History of Mass Communication, Module Co-ordinator, Prof. Justin Lewis
Masters in International Journalism Dissertation Supervision
2007-2008: Bingying Wang, NEETS in China
BA Dissertation Supervision
2008-2009: Laura Cooper-Young, ‘Press coverage of Bridgend Suicides’ (working title)
2008-2009: Carys King, ‘Glorification of Teenage Suicide’ (working title)
Memberships
Chair of the MeCCSA Postgraduate Network
Media Task Force, International Association of Suicide Prevention
Publications
Journal Articles:
World Health Organization (2008) Department of Mental Health, Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Media Professionals. Geneva.
Carter, C. and Luce, A. (2007). Gender Representations in Children’s Television in the UK. Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation and IZI, Germany.
Beasely, B., Luce, A. and Collins Standley, T. (2006) Newspaper versus Television: Trends in College Students' Primary and Secondary News Selections. Southwestern Mass Communication Journal. Southwest Texas State University.
Conference Presentations
‘Yea thou I walk through the Valley of Death: The Tale of Bridgend’ presented at the European Symposium on Suicide Prevention, Glasgow, Scotland, August 27th-30th, 2008.
‘The Newsworthiness of Bridgend’ presented at the European Symposium on Suicide Prevention, Glasgow, Scotland, August 27th-30th, 2008.
‘Bullycide: A Pressing Issue’ presented at the International Symposium on Suicidality and Suicide in the Media, Vienna, Austria, September 27-29, 2007
‘Bullycide: The issue ignored by the press’ presented at the MeCCSA Postgraduate Network Conference, University of the West of England, Bristol, July 12, 2007