Online forum part of 60 Minutes story

Following its story on adolescent suicide that was pulled at the last minute, 60 Minutes planned to have a 17yo answer viewers’ questions in an online forum. But psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg has criticised the move.

“That is not an expert … you just can’t do that. On a subject like that it’s manifestly not something you can do,” Dr Carr-Gregg said.

Dr Carr-Gregg and Jeff Kennett from Beyond Blue were instrumental in winning a court injunction to pull the story, last Sunday night. Kennett joined the Victorian State Government in the injunction.

“I reckon over the last year [we’ve stopped] about a dozen [stories], maybe more,” Mr Kennett said.

“There’s been three in the last six months, and I’ve got to say, not once have we been denied [by editors].”

Kennett won’t actually sight the story until Wednesday.

60 Minutes maintains it has the support of families involved in the story and is not without some commentators endorsing a considered and enlightened public discussion on an important social issue.

Kennett tells the Sunday Age he acted on Dr Carr-Gregg’s advice because ”if [more suicides] had happened in that community … I would have known that we could have done more, and I would have felt partly guilty”

Dr Carr-Gregg said there are programs that increase the risk of there being repeat incidents.

Nine has agreed not to broadcast the report on by Tara Brown until the matter returns to court next Friday.

Source: Sunday Age