'Stigma' in Reporting on "The Mentally Ill" - iMediaEthics

iMediaEthics publishes international media ethics news stories and investigations into journalism ethics lapses.

Menu

Home » Diversity»

The Guardian published an article by Harold A. Maio questioning why the media refers to “‘the’ mentally ill,” which Maio says adds a “stigma” to those will mental illnesses.

Maio, described as a “relentless campaigner against prejudicial language,” called for journalists to stop grouping all “mentally ill” together.  He wrote:

“Once one has diminished a group to a ‘the’, one then claims for them a ‘stigma’, a ‘they’, a difference, eventually a deficiency. Establishing an ‘us’ is one of the primary tools of prejudice, resulting in a ;them’.”

Read Maio’s full essay here.

Submit a tip / Report a problem

‘Stigma’ in Reporting on “The Mentally Ill”

Share this article: