The deadline for submitting entries for the 2010 Society of Professional Obituary Writers (SPOW) Awards for obituary writing and obit writers is Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010: Tomorrow.
For details, go the the SPOW website's Awards page at http://www.obitwriters.org/awards2010.html.
If you want to submit an entry for an obit writing award or nominate someone for a Lifetime Achievement or other special award, but cannot accomplish this by tomorrow's deadine, please contact Cailin Brown, contest coordinator, at awards@obitwriters.org to ask for an extension.
Good luck, everyone.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
"Obits, Philadelphia Style": Society of Professional Obituary Writers Convention News
“Obits, Philadelphia Style” is the theme of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers (SPOW) 2010 Convention in Philadelphia, Pa., April 22-24, 2010.
Jim Nicholson, the retired award-winning Daily News reporter who became a rock star among obit writers by writing about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people, will be the keynote speaker.
Irv Randolph, managing editor of The Philadelphia Tribune, will speak about his paper’s history as America’s oldest and the Greater Philadelphia region’s largest newspaper serving the African-American community.
The convention’s roundtable on diversity will focus on handling obituaries for African Americans.
Obituary writers and other local journalists from Philadelphia will discuss their news outfit’s policies regarding obituaries. They will share their favorite obits and anecdotes about their experiences on the death beat, as well as offer practical tips on obit writing.
Departing slightly from the theme, Tom Schecker and Barry Nelson, authors of "Mr. Ed: Dead: And Other Obituaries of the Most Famous People Who Never Lived," will discuss the use of obituaries as a satiric device.
The event will start with a kickoff dinner on Thursday, April 22, at a site to be determined.
Professional development sessions will be held during the day on Friday, April 23, and Saturday, April 24, at The Philadelphia Inquirer building at 400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia.
Presentation of the 2010 SPOW Awards for obituary writing will be made at a Friday awards luncheon.
Program updates will be posted at www.obitwriters.org/convention.html.
To register for the convention and/or pay SPOW membership dues, visit http://obitwriters2010.eventbrite.com.
Jim Nicholson, the retired award-winning Daily News reporter who became a rock star among obit writers by writing about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people, will be the keynote speaker.
Irv Randolph, managing editor of The Philadelphia Tribune, will speak about his paper’s history as America’s oldest and the Greater Philadelphia region’s largest newspaper serving the African-American community.
The convention’s roundtable on diversity will focus on handling obituaries for African Americans.
Obituary writers and other local journalists from Philadelphia will discuss their news outfit’s policies regarding obituaries. They will share their favorite obits and anecdotes about their experiences on the death beat, as well as offer practical tips on obit writing.
Departing slightly from the theme, Tom Schecker and Barry Nelson, authors of "Mr. Ed: Dead: And Other Obituaries of the Most Famous People Who Never Lived," will discuss the use of obituaries as a satiric device.
The event will start with a kickoff dinner on Thursday, April 22, at a site to be determined.
Professional development sessions will be held during the day on Friday, April 23, and Saturday, April 24, at The Philadelphia Inquirer building at 400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia.
Presentation of the 2010 SPOW Awards for obituary writing will be made at a Friday awards luncheon.
Program updates will be posted at www.obitwriters.org/convention.html.
To register for the convention and/or pay SPOW membership dues, visit http://obitwriters2010.eventbrite.com.
Regarding removed comments
You may have noticed that a lot of comments have been removed by the blog administrator lately and wondered about the reasons for our taking such actions.
All of these comments have been advertising ploys that make no sense and seemed aimed at getting readers to visit unrelated websites - mostly to buy drugs. Some comments are written in characters that appear to be in an indiscernible foreign language.
If you come across any comments I've missed, please let us know. Thanks.
All of these comments have been advertising ploys that make no sense and seemed aimed at getting readers to visit unrelated websites - mostly to buy drugs. Some comments are written in characters that appear to be in an indiscernible foreign language.
If you come across any comments I've missed, please let us know. Thanks.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Deadline for obituary awards approaches
The, ahem, deadline for submitting entries for the 2010 Society of Professional Obituary Writers Awards and nominations for Lifetime Achievement and other special honors for obituary writing is Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010.
The crystal tombstone-shaped awards will be presented on April 23, 2010, during an awards luncheon at The Philadelphia Inquirer.
For details, visit www.obitwriters.org/awards2010.html.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Howard Zinn obit controversy
Please read "Activist Historian Howard Zinn's Obit Causes Firestorm" written by NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard and discuss.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Dishing dirt on the deceased
Monday magazine features an interview with Sandra Martin, chief obituary writer for the Globe and Mail, touching on all her writing talent and honors.
She tells the interviewer: "Being an obituary writer is the most interesting and terrifying job in the newsroom—interesting because you never repeat yourself and terrifying because you never know who will be the next to die."
Yes, while other reporters are struggling to find a fresh way to write yet another first day of school, opening of the legislature or weather story, we get to delve into an interesting life and bring readers a different story every day.
It's a quick read, has a fabulous photo of Sandra and gives insight on how she "makes her subject 'breathe one more time. . .'."
She tells the interviewer: "Being an obituary writer is the most interesting and terrifying job in the newsroom—interesting because you never repeat yourself and terrifying because you never know who will be the next to die."
Yes, while other reporters are struggling to find a fresh way to write yet another first day of school, opening of the legislature or weather story, we get to delve into an interesting life and bring readers a different story every day.
It's a quick read, has a fabulous photo of Sandra and gives insight on how she "makes her subject 'breathe one more time. . .'."
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
150 Ways to Leave the Planet
Carlos Alcala takes on the subject of euphemisms used in paid obituaries and death notices to inform readers that a person has died in "The 'D' Word" in today's (Jan. 19, 2010) Sacramento Bee.
Until I read it, I didn't realize that avoiding the D word is at least as old as the Bible. Alcala points out that in the book of Genesis (the first book of the Bible) "Abraham gave up the ghost . . . and was gathered unto his people."
Alcala also cites the website of Bea Toney Bailey, who has a local cable TV show called "Bea on Bereavement" sponsored by the Interfaith Service Bureau. The site is called "Farewell, My Friend."
Interesting stuff.
Until I read it, I didn't realize that avoiding the D word is at least as old as the Bible. Alcala points out that in the book of Genesis (the first book of the Bible) "Abraham gave up the ghost . . . and was gathered unto his people."
Alcala also cites the website of Bea Toney Bailey, who has a local cable TV show called "Bea on Bereavement" sponsored by the Interfaith Service Bureau. The site is called "Farewell, My Friend."
Interesting stuff.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
2010 Society of Professional Obituary Writers Convention
Read the latest about the Society of Professional Obituary Writers (SPOW) Convention that will take place at The Philadelphia Inquirer April 22-24, 2010, on the SPOW Convention page at http://www.obitwriters.org/convention.html.
We expect to announce the complete program schedule, including speakers and topics as well as registration information, before the end of January.
Please note that we have not contracted for a block of hotel rooms, but we are designating Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia Airport as our convention hotel. Room rates at downtown hotels near the Inquirer building are exceptionally high the week of our convention. Four Points and most other airport-area hotels offer much lower rates and special promotions.
Four Points also has a lobby, lounge and restaurant where conventioneers can hang out and meet for purposes of carpooling and cab-sharing to travel downtown.
We'll set up an online site for registration after the program is announced. We'll confer with those who register early to determine the site of our kickoff dinner and more.
We'll post updates as they become available. Contact me at convention@obitwriters.org or my personal email address for more information and to offer suggestions.
We expect to announce the complete program schedule, including speakers and topics as well as registration information, before the end of January.
Please note that we have not contracted for a block of hotel rooms, but we are designating Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia Airport as our convention hotel. Room rates at downtown hotels near the Inquirer building are exceptionally high the week of our convention. Four Points and most other airport-area hotels offer much lower rates and special promotions.
Four Points also has a lobby, lounge and restaurant where conventioneers can hang out and meet for purposes of carpooling and cab-sharing to travel downtown.
We'll set up an online site for registration after the program is announced. We'll confer with those who register early to determine the site of our kickoff dinner and more.
We'll post updates as they become available. Contact me at convention@obitwriters.org or my personal email address for more information and to offer suggestions.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Obit writer featured in California paper, blog
Society of Professional Obituary Writers (SPOW) member Lisa Kimble is the subject of a feature titled "Liven up your obituary with a little help" in the Jan. 3, 2010, edition of the Bakersfield Californian.
Dianne Hardesty, who wrote the piece, also has posted a version of it on her own blog under the heading "Journalist's Niche -- Six Feet Under."
SPOW, its website, its upcoming convention and legendary obit writer Jim Nicholson are mentioned in the article.
Nicholson will be a featured speaker at the convention, which will be held April 22-24, 2010, in Philadelphia.
Watch for convention updates on the Obituary Forum and on the SPOW website.
Friday, December 04, 2009
Canwest News Service report on obits study
Shannon Proudfoot of Canwest News Service wrote a report on the obituaries study (mentioned in the previous post) that appeared in newspapers across Canada over the last couple of days.
Some of the stories appear to have been edited. The most complete one appears to be in the Montreal Gazette. Here's the link.
Some of the stories appear to have been edited. The most complete one appears to be in the Montreal Gazette. Here's the link.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
The State of the American Obituary
Patricia Sullivan of The Washington Post has posted an item on the Post Mortem blog about the Medill School of Journalism report on "The State of the American Obituary."
Sunday, November 15, 2009
David Lloyd is dead
The Emmy Award-winning TV comedy writer, who died last week of prostate cancer, penned scripts for "The Bob Newhart Show," "Phyllis," "Rhoda," "Lou Grant," "Taxi," "Cheers" and "Frasier." But he was best known for writing the hilarious "Mary Tyler Moore" episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust."
As an obit writer, I have always enjoyed this humorous look at death and impromptu tributes. In honor of Mr. Lloyd, I offer this video clip of his masterpiece:
As an obit writer, I have always enjoyed this humorous look at death and impromptu tributes. In honor of Mr. Lloyd, I offer this video clip of his masterpiece:
Monday, November 02, 2009
Paid Obits from 2008
Dear Obituary writers et al:
Alana mentioned that I would be posting, so here goes:
I'm a public radio producer working on an end-of-year obit series for NPR's All Things Considered. We hope the series will acknowledge deaths from this past year -- as well as the people who memorialized these deaths. As part of the series, we will be doing a segment on paid obits -- read by the people who wrote them. I'm interested in hearing from all of you about your favorite paid obits from this year. If you noticed some that stood out, I'd be grateful if you could send them to me at ebotein@mac.com
Thanks so much for your time.
Best,
Emily
Alana mentioned that I would be posting, so here goes:
I'm a public radio producer working on an end-of-year obit series for NPR's All Things Considered. We hope the series will acknowledge deaths from this past year -- as well as the people who memorialized these deaths. As part of the series, we will be doing a segment on paid obits -- read by the people who wrote them. I'm interested in hearing from all of you about your favorite paid obits from this year. If you noticed some that stood out, I'd be grateful if you could send them to me at ebotein@mac.com
Thanks so much for your time.
Best,
Emily
Sunday, November 01, 2009
A sign of the times
Some people spend their whole lives vying for fame. To get your name up in lights in Iowa, all you have to do is die.
The Iles Funeral Home in Des Moines is now offering electronic obituaries on area billboards. The digital announcements last about 8 seconds and feature the deceased person's name, picture and service details as well as the funeral home's Web site. The extra service is offered at no charge.
The Iles Funeral Home in Des Moines is now offering electronic obituaries on area billboards. The digital announcements last about 8 seconds and feature the deceased person's name, picture and service details as well as the funeral home's Web site. The extra service is offered at no charge.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Cashing in on the dearly departed
A CBS affiliate in Michigan thinks it can turn on-air obituaries into an important revenue stream.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Kay Powell's mama died
Kay Powell, who wrote fabulous obits for regular folks as well as the rich and famous during her years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, composed an obit for her mother, Juanita T. Powell, that ran in the AJC's paid obits section and appears on the McLane Funeral Home website: www.mclanefuneralservices.com.
Kay did a fine job of summing up her mom's professional, social and family life, explaining some details in her own special way.
She provides the following to explain how Mama delighted in sharing her home with family, friends and sometimes strangers:
In fact, after she was widowed, there were 13 toothbrushes in her bathroom, all kept there by people who regularly enjoyed her company.
She evolved into a great cook who turned out a dinner every Sunday then--determined by how much she had cooked--invited whomever she ran in to to join the family table after church where lively, sometimes six-way conversations ensued.
Condolences, Kay.
Kay did a fine job of summing up her mom's professional, social and family life, explaining some details in her own special way.
She provides the following to explain how Mama delighted in sharing her home with family, friends and sometimes strangers:
In fact, after she was widowed, there were 13 toothbrushes in her bathroom, all kept there by people who regularly enjoyed her company.
She evolved into a great cook who turned out a dinner every Sunday then--determined by how much she had cooked--invited whomever she ran in to to join the family table after church where lively, sometimes six-way conversations ensued.
Condolences, Kay.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
How many Ps in Chappaquiddick?
Editor & Publisher tracks the first mention of Chappaquiddick in a roundup of obituaries:
It's always fascinating to see where obituaries first bring up what might be called the biggest (sometimes single) black mark on a notable person's life. Just last week we looked at when news outlets first mentioned the Plame case in covering the death of Robert Novak. So where did leading outlets place the first mention of the Chappaquiddick accident in their obits of Ted Kennedy? E&P's Sam Chamberlain provides the following count. The liberal Boston Globe mentioned it much earlier than the conservative Boston Herald.
NY Daily News- 13th graf
Associated Press- 7th graf
Boston Herald- 10th graf
Boston Globe- 5th graf
NY Times- 14th graf
NY Post- 14th graf
Washington Post- 9th graf
Wall Street Journal- 6th graf
LA Times- 12th graf
Chicago Tribune- 12th graf (same obit as LA Times)
Miami Herald- 10th graf
Reuters- 18th graf
USA Today- 19th graf
Politico- 24th graf
The Hill-NO MENTION
Roll Call-25th graf
National Journal-11th graf
Times of London- 8th graf
It's always fascinating to see where obituaries first bring up what might be called the biggest (sometimes single) black mark on a notable person's life. Just last week we looked at when news outlets first mentioned the Plame case in covering the death of Robert Novak. So where did leading outlets place the first mention of the Chappaquiddick accident in their obits of Ted Kennedy? E&P's Sam Chamberlain provides the following count. The liberal Boston Globe mentioned it much earlier than the conservative Boston Herald.
NY Daily News- 13th graf
Associated Press- 7th graf
Boston Herald- 10th graf
Boston Globe- 5th graf
NY Times- 14th graf
NY Post- 14th graf
Washington Post- 9th graf
Wall Street Journal- 6th graf
LA Times- 12th graf
Chicago Tribune- 12th graf (same obit as LA Times)
Miami Herald- 10th graf
Reuters- 18th graf
USA Today- 19th graf
Politico- 24th graf
The Hill-NO MENTION
Roll Call-25th graf
National Journal-11th graf
Times of London- 8th graf
Saturday, August 15, 2009
My sister: The obituary cliché
Sometimes standard obituary clichés are true, as you will see in "Alana Baranick's The Dash Between" column titled "Rosalie Miltak Sims and Obituary Clichés" at ObitsOhio.com in what amounts to a eulogy for my sister, who died May 16, 2008.
At the end of the column, I added a link to that long list of obit clichés that Claire Martin compiled and posted on Obituary Forum last year.
At the end of the column, I added a link to that long list of obit clichés that Claire Martin compiled and posted on Obituary Forum last year.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The RIPpy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Obitutainment
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| The Rippy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Obitutainment - Crypts | ||||
| ||||
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Rippy Awards - Celebrity Crypts | ||||
| ||||
Farewell Footage
In the past two years, producers at The New York Times on the Web have stockpiled more than two dozen video obits of famous subjects. Ten more are currently "in production."
"There is editing and production and interviewing, and it takes time. You have to do a lot of research, get archival footage, acquire rights to things and go through our own video library," David Rummel, the Times senior producer for news and documentary, told Editor & Publisher magazine.
At the time of this writing, The Times has published four Vobits: Art Buchwald, Dith Pran, Odetta and Stewart Mott. In each case, the Website agreed to keep the involvement and identity of the subject confidential until the time of death.
Is your news organization doing this? If not, why not?
"There is editing and production and interviewing, and it takes time. You have to do a lot of research, get archival footage, acquire rights to things and go through our own video library," David Rummel, the Times senior producer for news and documentary, told Editor & Publisher magazine.
At the time of this writing, The Times has published four Vobits: Art Buchwald, Dith Pran, Odetta and Stewart Mott. In each case, the Website agreed to keep the involvement and identity of the subject confidential until the time of death.
Is your news organization doing this? If not, why not?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)