Obituaries

One of the most credential and interactive sections to every newspaper is also the same place where headlines of the dead dominate the page. Likewise, every online newspaper has a similar section for the public to browse and search.

Obituary writing is standard practice for journalists. Whenever someone with any social clout dies, the obituary section of any newspaper will write an article in celebration of the person's life and what they had contributed to society.

The most famous newspaper's obituary sections including the New York Times, Washington Post, and the L.A. Times are all available online. In Canada, the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star both have their Obit sections online.

In today's obit section of the Globe and Mail, the death of film director Stuart Rosenburg, who directed 1979's The Amityville Horror, was on top of the headlines.

Obituaries are also provided by willing citizens who will submit a short written piece about their relatives or good friends who have passed away. Some newspapers have an "Announcements" section dedicated to citizen announcements of deaths, births or well wishes. Obituary Central has tips and a checklist to follow when writing a obituary.

Obituaries are a staple in today's society and databases of actual obituaries and obituary sections service are also available online. The Internet provides seekers of death with many different outlets to search obituaries databases. One such database is Obituaries.com powered by Legacy.com.

As well, there are many "fluff" sites which exploit the idea of an obituary. Amuseyourself.com's Dead Celebrity Alert, a free HTML plug-in to the right, automatically updates the news list with "the latest deaths among the rich and famous, as soon as the news hits the wires."

Periodicals

Obit magazine, the website is under construction, is a magazine written for the aging "baby boom" generation who want to spend the end of their lives to the fullest. The about us section of the website says Obit will publish expanded obituaries that "will get inside the person through incisive journalistic inquiry and robust reflection upon the legacy of the life in question."

Once online, the site should give the public a taste of the written work inside the magazine that is celebrating life.

Obituaries and Online Video

On January 18, 2007 the New York Times decided to integrate multimedia with obituaries on its website and presented to the world the premiere of the obituary series entitled The Last Word.

The four-segment video interview is with former Washington Post humour columnist Art Buchwald announcing his own demise. The interview began with Buchwald looking into the camera and saying, "Hi. I'm Art Buchwald and I just died."


This is the first for multimedia journalism and gives viewers a look into an interesting life combining regular obituary methods, but integrated photos and personal video of Buchwald at his summer home in Martha's Vineyard. The video obituary was available on the New York Times website along with his written obituary, authored by Richard Severo.

This form of obituary may come close to the ethical edge for many, but with full participation of Buchwald, the video series sent waves to online news, especially the blogging community.

Given almost a year to mock the prospect of death after refusing dialysis for a failed kidney Buchwald said "Dying is easy, parking is hard" (Also the same line used by the CNN Anchor when the news broke that Buchwald had died).

An essay by Charles Krauthammer in March 12's Time magazine says there there is much to be said for a man who can die well; by mocking it to the very end. "There is great courage and dignity in that, which is why Buchwald's extended goodbye... earned him such appreciation and admiration."

In the end, death can be our only expectation - no matter how lucky we have been in cheating it.