New York Taxi Driver Perspectives on News Coverage of Driver Suicides

<b></b> <i>Background:</i> In 2018, news outlets began reporting on a suicide epidemic among New York City's yellow taxi drivers. Within months, print, television, radio, and internet outlets had produced pieces describing the deaths of drivers struggling to endure transformations in their industry. <i>Aims:</i> We explored taxi drivers' perspectives regarding suicide news coverage and the degree to which the coverage affected their lives. <i>Methods:</i> Current and recent taxi drivers participated in open-ended, life-history-informed interviews, which were transcribed and analyzed thematically. <i>Results:</i> We interviewed 21 participants. Four themes related to interviewees' experience of suicide-related media coverage emerged: drivers' awareness of the news coverage and opinions regarding it, the degree to which the coverage motivated drivers to engage in conversation with others about stress, the extent to which coverage inspired drivers to think differently about mental health, and perceptions regarding the media's broader characterization of taxi drivers. <i>Limitations:</i> Interviews were conducted in English, a second language for many taxi drivers. <i>Conclusion:</i> Taxi drivers expressed diverse views regarding media reporting on driver suicides, with some viewing it as helpful, while others critiqued it as simplistic, stigmatizing, and sensationalist.