By Phil Riske | Senior Reporter/Writer
At his request, I wrote the obituary for a dear friend. The family had to pay $559 to The Arizona Republic to publish it.
In a way, newspapers hold you hostage: How could you possibly be unwilling to pay a loved one’s “obit?”
The trend toward paid obituaries, was noted by U.S. News & World Report, where Steven S. Duke, a researcher at the Readership Institute at Northwestern University, wrote ”Space and revenue concerns have led newspapers to run fewer, shorter obituaries, or shift them as a news item to classified advertising.
C’mon man!
Also, families have to write and submit obits, which is an addiotional burden in a time of grief, and a survivor or funeral home has to provide proof of the death. I must include praise for The Arizona Republic’s obituary department, where staff was very helpful, professional, and well understanding that last-minute changes will most likely be part of the process.
Meanwhile, legal debates have occurred as to whether newspapers have copyright claims to obituaries written by family. But that’s a debate for another day.
In the meantime, don’t die.
