News reports on suicides are typically discouraged because of fears that they can induce a wave of copycat suicides.

In case you’re skeptical, copycat suicides can be a real problem. When someone commits suicide, it’s somewhat common that others close to him or her will also commit suicide, in what is known was the Werther effect. If a suicide is very widely reported on, it can serve as a perfect model for copycats to follow suit. 

This is sometimes called a suicide contagion, and often spread through school systems or close communities. In these cases, those areas are called “suicide clusters.” Suicide clusters can also be periods of time where suicides are high, but not in a specific area. Most notably, they can occur nationwide or wider when a celebrity has committed suicide. 

An example would be Marilyn Monroe. Following her suicide in August of 1962, suicides were up by 200 deaths more than normal. So it kind of makes sense that you’re more likely to hear about a homicide than a suicide in your community. 

(Source)