This webinar focuses on the shared responsibility we all hold in how we talk about suicide across traditional reporting, community conversations, and digital and social media spaces. Featuring Janet Schnell, LCSW, a suicide loss survivor and co-author of the Retrospective Fatality Analysis (RFA) protocol, and Dr. Karla Hunter, Professor of Communication Studies in the School of Communication and Journalism at South Dakota State University, the session is appropriate for coroners and medical examiners, public health professionals, coalition and community leaders, counselors and clinicians, suicide prevention and postvention practitioners, and suicide loss survivors.

The session examines established media guidelines alongside the realities of communication in the aftermath of suicide. Participants will explore the unique challenges that arise when grief is expressed online and how well-intended messages can unintentionally influence people who are already struggling.

The goal is not to judge or control how people express loss, but to strengthen compassion, awareness, and practical communication choices that protect vulnerable individuals while still honoring the voices of those who are grieving.