Television coverage of mental illness in Canada: 2013–2015

The aim of this study is to assess television news coverage of mental illness in Canadian media, including change over time. Data consist of news clips mentioning terms including ‘mental illness’ (N = 579). These were systematically collected and coded over 3 years (2013–2015) using a media retrieval software. Trend analysis indicated a significant linear increase for positively oriented coverage. In 2013, less than 10% of clips had a positive overall tone, whereas in 2015, this figure reached over 40%. Articles linking mental illness to violence significantly decreased, though these remain over 50%. Improvement may be due to educational initiatives targeted at journalists.