THIS article was in Eastman's on-line newsletter... I thought
it might be of interest to readers of the Kos. Co. page.
Marjorie Priser mapriser(a)waveone.net
- The Death of the Free Obituary
The April 1999 edition of the American Journalism Review carries
a
sobering article that describes the loss of a source of
information for future genealogists. Columnist Judith Sheppard
writes about Nathaniel Blumberg, publisher of the Treasure State
Review in Montana. Blumberg mourns the fact that big-chain
publishing firms have taken over most daily newspapers and that
they now charge for publishing obituaries. Blumberg calls these
companies ghouls - "evil spirits that feed on the dead".
Author Sheppard then goes on to quote a number of other
journalists with similar opinions. Apparently the costs of
publishing have encouraged papers to seek new sources of revenue.
Obituaries were often a newspaper's doff of the hat to a departed
subscriber. Now, says Sheppard, they are more like a classified
ad.
While they genealogical impact is not mentioned in the article,
the idea of charging for an obituary will probably discourage
many
lower-income people from publishing this information of value to
future genealogists.
The full article is available at:
http://ajr.newslink.org/ajrobitapr99.html. My thanks to Jerry
Reed
for telling me about this article.