The portrayal of suicide in the media contributes to our understanding of the cultural phenomenon of suicide. The risk of inducing imitative effects, but also the possibility of a preventive impact on the recipients make this topic an important issue in suicide prevention.International contributions from psychology, medicine, sociology, media- and literary studies focus on semiotics of suicide portrayals in the media and their effects on the recipient.The analysis of daily press, literature, film genres and the new media gives an up-to-date insight into this interdisciplinary field of research.