A. Obituaries- notes
News Obituaries- Obituaries of people who are well known
Standard obits- handled by the advertising department, paid
notices- require a large amount of space.
Usually these are written by the family, sometimes written by reporters
at the request of the family. Either way, they cost money, varying from paper to paper.
The lead-
Time and Place of
Funeral Services
Time of Burial
Visitation Time
Survivors
Date and Place of
Birth
Achievements
Occupation
Memberships
Confirm
spellings
Check
addresses
Check
birth date against age
Verify
obituaries with mortuary or family
Check newspaper
library for other stories about the person-be sure that you have the right person
The story is one of life, not just death- celebrate the
deceased’s life- give them character
and grace
Do not write: “loved
ones” “passed away” “the departed” “remains”- euphemisms and clichés
“as a
result of an operation”
“suddenly”
“an
apparent heart attack” or
injuries “received”
Religious
terms- Catholics “celebrate
Reform
Jews worship in “temples”
Orthodox
worship in “synagogues
Episcopal
priest- rector not pastor
Men are
survived by their wife, not widow
Proper phrasing- “following an operation”
“died
unexpectedly”
apparently
of a heart attack
injuries
“suffered”
Sources- mortuary forms, other newspapers, newspaper libray,
interviewing family and friends.
Policies- rephrase certain types of causes of death and delete embarrassing information
B. Go to the TimesUnion.com internet location. Find and read a few different Death Notices. See if they have made any mistakes according to the information above and find these three different elements in a death notice from the TimesUnion: the name, occupation and birth date. After you have found these things, write them into an e mail to send to me. No one should have the same information- that will result in a zero.
