Public Service Announcement

It’s not enough that by the time you read this, almost 80,000 plus Americans will have died from complications with COVID-19, but in a recent interview on a major news network with Dr. Benjamin Miller, a Hospice and Palliative Medicine physician, he predicted that a minimum of 75,000 additional Americans will most likely die of an “epidemic within the pandemic.” What he was referring to was that as a result of the impact of the coronavirus on the economy and unemployment, it would lead to additional death caused by substance abuse, overdose and suicide from depression. We know we were dealing with a serious mental health problem in America before the pandemic hit, but now we’re talking about tripling the amount of potential.

I’m not trying to be Debbie Downer, but I do need to point out that as broadcasters, we chose to get in to this business to serve our listeners and our communities, and this will be a big issue and we have an obligation to address it moving forward. I’m not talking about breaking formats to do serious content on depression and suicide, I’m talking about making it a priority to entertain the audience, provide up-to-date information on how to get help if needed, and reminding everyone over and over again, that they are not alone.

We’ve all seen the suicide prevention ads pre-COVID-19 featuring Billie Eilish, probably one of the most influential to date, thanks to her star power. And we can all appreciate her willingness to talk about her depression and suicidal thoughts in the past. It’s a great way to make those who can relate to her feel like they are not alone. And while Billie’s influence primarily attracts Gen Z and young Millennials, it will also be critical to target older Millennials and Gen Xers as well. These are the people who will be impacted the most by unemployment, particularly while trying to provide food for their families, paying bills and caring for their elderly parents. It will be critical for all formats to figure out creative ways to connect with the community and make sure everyone really is okay.

Again, I’m not suggesting that we break format and start doing lengthy serious content about suicide and depression on music, entertainment and sports stations and podcasts. There are plenty of outlets for that kind of content. But, I am suggesting that we all need to use our extensions of our brands, social media, star power (talent) and podcasting to make suicide prevention part of the “New Normal” conversation and not so awkward (as most ads suggest) anymore. If you talk about it and focus on the success stories and how to prevent, treat and beat depression, then you’ll be doing a service to yourself and your community. Make putting together creative and entertaining campaigns a priority for now. Think back to the “Rock The Vote” campaign which began in 1990. If you are old enough to remember it, that campaign will be stuck in your brain forever because it was so popular. If you are not old enough to remember it, look it up. It was well done and still to this day extremely important (now more than ever).

With all of the partnerships and relationships radio and broadcasters have with artists, clients, celebrities and sports figures, and all of the technology we have, it should be easy to get creative on partnering with them to produce entertaining and effective campaigns and events to help prevent the unnecessary loss of so many more Americans of all ages. The message is very clear. “Are you okay?...No, I mean are you “really” okay?” Don’t be afraid to ask the question over and over again, you never know how many lives that you may actually save.