James Lamont DuBose Discusses Ways Media Outlets Can Educate the Public About Suicide Prevention During the Holidays

LOS ANGELES,, CA, USA, December 30: The holiday season is in full bloom and people are busier than ever. James Lamont DuBose the director of programming for Fox Soul is encouraging his counterparts to take deliberate and thoughtful action to educate the public about suicide prevention during the holiday season. Suidiede and suicide attemps tend to increase during he holidays according to th CDC (Centers for Disease Control). “We all know based on the statistics that more people commit suicude during the holidays. I am hopeful that those of us who are in the media can do more to help those who are at risk for committing suicide. I think that we can all do a better job of educating the public.” James Lamont DuBose said. The act of suicide is something that recievs very little attention, unless someone famous has committed the act. Even then, media outlets rarely go beyond actually reporting the suicide, and highlighting the person who died. “Media conglomerates have do do a better job of reporting suicides. I do realize discussions centered around sicide are uncomfortable for a lot of people, but sometimes being uncomfortable is a necessity. I have seen a number of stories that aired on differentb networks about suicide, where it was described as an inexplanable act. We all haave to think about suicide differently. That starts with the way suicides are reported. We need to all need to educate ourselves, and come to the understanding that there is always a reason a person makes the decision to take their own life. Whether we understand the reason or not, we must understand that there is always a reason people commit suicide.”, said James Lamont DuBose. According to Mr. DuBose media outlets tend to romantacise the act of suicide, especially when someone of stature or influence takes their own life. “We have to be vry careful about romantasizing the act of suicide. Those of us who are in the media don’t engage in the romantasizing of suicide intentionally, but we tend to do it none the less. This is why I believe that a greater focus on helping our viewers learn the signs and symptoms relating to suicide could go a long way to opening up the conversation, by creating a greater awareness in terms of helping people lern to recognize the signs of suicide.”, James Lamont DuBose said. According to Mr. DuBose, one of the most important things that anyone working in the media can do is reserch and learn what the statistics relating to suicide rates in their area. “One of the worst things media outlets can do is generalize the act of suicide. When we discuss suicide, it must relate to the geographical area of the viewers. Doing this keeps the issue close to home for viewers, makes it relevant and helps to drive a sense of urgency. PSA’s that focus on the importance of checking in on friends and family, and recognizing the signs related to suicide using local sports figures, clergy and other people of influence can really make a difference this holoday season.”, James Lamont DuBose says.