Introduction The reporting on suicide has been a topic in suicide research for many decades. Nevertheless, there is no research that has investigated the portrayals of assisted suicide (AS) specifically. This is in spite of many countries now considering or implementing legislation reforms related to AS, and a considerable media interest in this issue. Methods Content analysis of approximately 900 news media items about AS in media outlets from a country that has recently legalized AS, Austria. The coding is based on media guidelines for the reporting of suicide. Austria, as probably the first country worldwide, has recently included specific recommendations for reporting AS in their guidelines. Results We provide preliminary findings indicating major inconsitencies between the current reporting and recommended reporting styles. In particular, mononcausal explanations of AS; heroification and romanticizing of AS are very prevalent. There is a nearly complete absence of stories of individuals who considered AS but decided to pursue other options (i.e. stories consistent with a possible Papageno effect). Furthermore, items frequently do not reference links to support services other than those related to pursuing AS. The reporting on AS requires the additional consideration of aspects not currently covered in guidelines. Examples will be discussed in the presentation. Discussion The current reporting on AS is not consistent with media guidelines on the reporting of suicide. Suicide prevention needs to focus on AS and develop and provide recommendations on how to report AS in existing guidelines.