Charging for obits: Tradition, content and need for revenue are all determinants By Chad Stebbins ...... Pages 1-6

Free and full publication of obituaries: The essence of a reputable local newspaper By Brian Burmester ...... Pages 7-8 To charge for obituaries is to deprive readers, historians of insights into lives of our citizens By Jeremy Condliffe ...... Pages 9-10

Book re-tells brave story of Hazel Brannon Smith By Garrett W. Ray ...... Page 11

A note about ISWNE would improve ‘Newspapers’ By Kenneth Starck ...... Page 12

An interview with three small-town advocates Challenges and opportunities abound in rural communities By Ronald Wirtz ...... Pages 13-15

volume 52, no. 1 • spring 2011 grassroots editor • spring 2011 Charging for obits:

Editor: Dr. Chad Stebbins Graphic Designer: Liz Ford Grassroots Editor Tradition, content (USPS 227-040, ISSN 0017-3541) is published quarterly for $25 per year by the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, Institute of International Studies, Missouri Southern and need for revenue State University, 3950 East Newman Road, Joplin, MO 64801-1595. Periodicals post- age paid at Joplin, Mo., and at additional mailing offices. are all determinants POSTMASTER: Send address changes By Chad Stebbins to Grassroots Editor, Institute of International Studies, Missouri Southern State University, 3950 E. Newman Road, When a weekly newspaper editor in Illinois decided to start charging for obituaries at the beginning of the Joplin, MO 64801-1595. year and sought advice from the ISWNE Hotline, it opened up a conglomeration of opinions from editors and Volume 52, Issue 1, Spring 2011 publishers on both sides of the issue.

Subscription Rate: $25 per year in On one hand, the Illinois editor received numerous rates for obituaries with and without photographs. Some the United States and Canada; $28 per year newspapers charge by the column inch, some by the line or word, still others a flat fee. For photos, the going rate elsewhere. seems to be an additional $5 to $25 if the paper doesn’t include one in its base price. Other ISWNE members, however, seemed almost outraged that any community newspaper would charge for Officers of the International Society “essential news” items such as obituaries, birth announcements, or engagement and wedding announcements. of Weekly Newspaper Editors “They’re the very things that connect the community to the newspaper, and they’re the very things that tell the President: Jeremy Condliffe history of the community,” said Lori Evans, editor and publisher of the Homer (Alaska) News. Congleton Chronicle The Hotline question also determined that Canadian newspapers seem to have a long tradition of paid obituar- Congleton, Cheshire, England. ies, although there were a couple of notable exceptions. “Obit advertising like tombstones is a big business across the country,” explained Neil Sutcliffe, group publisher of seven weeklies in Alberta for Sun Media/Quebecor. Vice President: Kris O’Leary The Star News Medford, Wis. The argument for paid obituaries The 15 editors and publishers who responded that they charge for obituaries cited both the resulting revenue Executive Director: Dr. Chad Stebbins, Director, Institute of and the fact that family members can dictate the content. Annual revenues range from $2,500 at the Superior International Studies, Missouri Southern (Nebraska) Express, to $4,000 at the Elmira (Ontario) Independent, to $17,000 at the Galena (Illinois) Gazette, State University, 3950 E. Newman Road, and to nearly $60,000 at the five Community Newspapers, Inc. published by David Brown in North Carolina Joplin, MO 64801-1595 and Georgia. Phone: (417) 625-9736 “That may not be enough money to get some folks excited, and trust me, I didn’t want to have to make this Fax: (417) 659-4445 decision, but the three jobs that money pays for surely are appreciated by those associates,” said Brown, adding E-mail: [email protected] that the change was mandated by CNI in April 2009. The company, however, allowed him flexibility in the rates Board of Directors: he charged. Goodloe Sutton The Star News in Wainwright, Alberta, saw modest obituary revenue of $6,300 in 2010 — 63 obits at $100 The Democrat Reporter each. The paper allows up to 350 words; for another $50, families can have another 100 words. A picture is Linden, Ala. included at no additional charge. Editor Kelly Clemmer considers the flat $100 price quite a bargain; the neigh- Paul MacNeill boring daily Edmonton Journal charges two or three times that for a two-inch obituary. The Eastern Graphic The Lahontan Valley News in Fallon, Nev., brought in $30,028.40 for paid obituaries in 2010, which essen- Montague, Prince Edward Island tially paid for one reporter, according to editor Steve Ranson. Chris Wood Although the World-Spectator in Moosomin, Saskatchewan, has annual obituary revenues of $10,000 to Wisconsin Web Offset, Brookfield, Wis. $15,000, editor and publisher Kevin Weedmark says he doesn’t charge simply to boost his bottom line. “We Kelly Clemmer charge because someone’s death simply isn’t news to a significant number of our readers,” he said. “Marriages, Star News Inc. birthday announcements, and other personal items that would only be of interest to only a small number of Wainwright, Alberta people are charged for that very reason. In our opinion, news is what affects everyone, or a significant number Cheryl Wormley of people.” The Woodstock Independent Woodstock, Ill. Some 1,600 miles across Canada, Steve Bonspiel agrees that “death is not news across the board.” Bonspiel, editor and publisher of the Eastern Door in Kahnawake, Quebec, charges for obituaries in order to limit the sheer Gary Sosniecki TownNews.com, Moline, Ill. volume his paper could receive. “We live in a community of 8,000 and have roughly 50 deaths a year,” he said. “It would be impossible to write about each one, and if you leave one out you are the devil. Immediate Past President: Jim Painter West Valley View Avondale, Ariz. 1 grassroots editor • spring 2011

“And I don’t believe in giving these types of things for free,” Bonspiel added. among the survivors, we’ll leave it in where we wouldn’t have before. We mark “Our space is valuable, and if they want to put something in the paper, whether it’s them as paid ads, and they are well read. an obit or a birthday, they should pay, whether they are local or not. We do give “I’m of the old school and grew up reading The Express and liked it best when other things for free, however. We run a blood donor clinic, spring cleanup and the obits followed a set format,” Blauvelt added. “But it appears now the readers Halloween decorating contest, all of which we make no profit on and we spend are slowly voting for the freedom to say what they want, how they want.” rather than earn. Those are just three of the things we promote. I don’t want to The Star News in Medford, Wis., moved to a three-tiered system for obituaries sound cynical, but that is a lot for one paper that is barely making any money, to about five years ago. Previously, the paper published all obits at no charge but give. Charging for something like an obit is not disrespectful; it is merely a busi- insisted that they conform to its style and policies (such as grandchildren listed by ness practice that we should all be following.” number and not by name). “This led to a lot of headaches and disgruntled custom- Bonspiel said there were occasions, such as when two people perished in a fire ers who would argue that they had only one grandchild as compared to so and so or a former grand chief died that the Eastern Door offered large obituary spaces for who had 55 and couldn’t we please make an exception just for them,” said Brian free. “These were cases when an article wasn’t only helping to heal the families Wilson, news editor. “As a result we were getting a lot of people angry because of involved, it was a celebration of unique lives of individuals in specific circum- arbitrary policies to which we blindly adhered.” stances, making their unfortunate passing something the community wanted to The Star News also discovered that Medford’s local funeral homes were charg- read more about,” he said. ing families an “obituary preparation fee,” even though the newspaper was writing Two publishers of Alberta weeklies said they were forced to start charging for the obit and catching the grief when the information provided by the funeral home obituaries when they became so verbose, several even taking up a full tabloid page. was incorrect. The Valley Views in Valleyview gave them away for 25 years but reluctantly started The paper’s first-tier obituary, written by a staff member, is still free. The charging — not at its regular per line rate but at a preferred rate that also applied deceased is allowed a brief biography and picture. The second option, which costs to thank-you notes, memoriams, and wedding announcements. “It wasn’t finan- $35, allows families to add the complete list of surviving grandchildren, great- cially feasible to publish them at no charge, particularly since most obituaries grandchildren, pets, special friends, etc. and other non-essential biographical became quite elaborate,” said Joan Plaxton, whose mother started The Valley Views information. The third option is a fully-paid obituary that is charged at the paper’s in 1963. “It seems tacky to charge for obituaries, but over time we had no choice standard advertising rate. “These are for the people who wish to state how their but to do it. Last year our revenue for obituaries came to approximately $2,600 loved ones were ‘Taken by the angels to meet their heavenly maker while sur- while revenues for ‘in memory of’ amounted to about $1,200. rounded by loving family and friends and their dog Fido after a long and coura- Joyce Webster, publisher of the East Central Alberta Review, echoed Plaxton’s geous battle’,” Wilson said. concern that the increasing length of the obituaries necessitated a price increase. Wilson said the three-tiered approach has been well-received by the community. Previously, families paid $25 for an obituary; now, the cost is $75 for up to 200 Approximately 60 percent of the families choose the add-on second option, 25 words and 18 cents a word beyond that. “This huge increase was put in place to try percent the free obit, and 15 percent the fully-paid obit. and curtail the ‘books’ families were writing,” Webster said. “It didn’t help, so we are now getting, oftentimes, $200 to $300 for printing their ‘books.’ But we print Most of the newspapers who charge for obituaries indicated that they do provide and pay postage for reaching 24,700 homes weekly, so our space is very valuable.” free death notices, which typically include the deceased’s name, age, date of birth, date of death, name of funeral home, and time and date of funeral services. Steve Zender, editor and publisher of The Progressor-Times in Carey, Ohio, said he resisted going to paid obituaries for a long time before making the decision in October 2009. “Like so many others, I viewed this as news. I changed my mind The case against paid obituaries when folks began insisting their free obit be printed exactly as they wanted. (We Some of the responses to the ISWNE Hotline question asking how much to refused, of course, and made people angry.) We were also getting obits from out of charge for obituaries bordered on outrage that a newspaper would even consider it. nowhere (‘Who is this guy?’ we were asking) because we were free and all the Within hours of the question’s posting, at least a dozen members chimed in that papers around us were paid. Believe me, it was not increasing readership; it was such a practice was unconscionable. just causing space problems for us. I have never regretted going to paid. As far as Perhaps Charlie Gay, former editor and publisher of The Shelton-Mason County I know, we have not received one complaint from families or funeral directors.” Journal in Shelton, Wash., said it best: “If obituaries aren’t the most important An Illinois weekly began charging for obituaries to streamline the process and news stories in the newspaper, surely they rank in the top 5 percent of what week- eliminate confrontations with bereaved families. “Galena is served by two daily lies print. Charging for obituaries is a good way to start your newspaper on a papers on the east and west,” said Gazette publisher P. Carter Newton. “They began downhill slide. The newspaper should be printing every obituary it can get its hands charging for obits and people began preparing longer and longer obits, which on free to record the life stories of the people in the community and to provide a included pet names, etc. When we edited those obits, the response was always, historical record. Charging for obituaries will cause some people not to submit ‘Well, the Dubuque paper ran my obit exactly the way I wanted it. them. Whether that percentage is 10 percent, 25 percent or 50 percent, I don’t “And then came the day when a woman called to complain about the obit of her know, but even the smallest percentage is too much. People in your community mother being wrong in the paper (a piece of information that wasn’t sent to us) and should know who died; it shouldn’t depend on whether the family wants to pay to we told her that we’d need to charge for running the obit the second time. She tell the community.” became furious, because the funeral home had charged her $300 for running the Obituaries were so important to Gay that at the end of each year he reviewed obit in my newspaper. She was even less happy upon learning that we didn’t charge every single one The Shelton-Mason County Journal published and wrote an edito- for obits. We started charging the very next week and haven’t looked back.” rial in early January commenting on the lives of several dozen of the deceased. In Bill Blauvelt, who publishes two weeklies straddling the Nebraska/Kansas 2006, for example, the paper published some 460 obits, including ones for the border, started charging for the sake of consistency when he acquired the Jewell mother of one of his best friends and a high school classmate. “May their deaths County Record in Mankato, Kan. The Superior (Nebraska) Express and the Record give us a deeper appreciation for the loved ones living around us,” he wrote on Jan. share a common obituary page. “We had a problem because the Record published 11, 2007. obituaries as written with no editing,” Blauvelt said. “Record readers were unhap- The other hardliners against paid obituaries believe that obituaries are news and py with our editing, so the compromise was to charge 30 percent of our display ad shouldn’t be sold. “One has to wonder when deaths stopped being news,” said to run the complete obit. We still correct grammar, but if they want to list a dog Marcia Wood, who owned the Sangre de Cristo Chronicle in Angel Fire, N.M., for

2 grassroots editor • spring 2011

22 years with her husband, Guy. “Is there a trend to charge for other types of news? but the response to our obituaries is priceless — literally,” said Jessica L. Lloyd- No wonder the public is angry with newspapers! Anytime you can intersect with Rogers, of the Coast Lake News in Lakeside. “We often run obits from the funeral readers on a positive basis is the right time. Working with a family to get informa- homes, but at least half the time I’m asked to come and interview the family and tion for an obit can produce lasting goodwill for the paper. If revenue is tight, sell write the obit. I include the usual stats, but I also treat it like any other interview more ads! Come up with a new special section. But please don’t charge for obits.” and look for the personal traits and foibles that folks remember and loved about Some responders were incredulous that any newspaper would risk depriving that person. itself of abounding content in exchange for a few dollars. Robert M. Williams Jr., “I think writing obits is an important job. You are crafting the only memory or publisher of the SouthFire Newspapers Group in Georgia, said if someone had told news story that a grandchild or great-grandchild might have access to. I take it very him 40 years ago, when he bought his first newspaper, that: seriously and have had at least one man ask his wife to have me write the obit when he died. I understand the need for revenue, but sometimes I think we forget that not • “I could have someone else provide me, on a regular basis, a mini-feature everything should be reduced to cost. Should someone’s death not be in the paper story on someone in my circulation area or who had a connection to my because the family couldn’t afford to pay for it? Ugh. That leaves a bad taste in my area… mouth.” • “I could be guaranteed these mini-features, week after week, would be one Paula Barnett, publisher of the Woodruff County Monitor in McCrory, Ark., said of the most well-read features in my newspaper… publishing obituaries at no charge was part of the small community experience. “They are such a part of the news of our small county, that it seems akin to charg- • “I could have people call me and thank me for printing the story about ing to run sports photos or school news,” she said. “Until last year, we didn’t charge their friend and family member exactly as they wanted it… for memorials either, but they got so out of hand that we had to start charging, much • “I could provide a lasting piece of history guaranteed to be clipped and as we hate to. Most obits and memorials are for people we knew and loved. We kept, recorded for posterity, and be a part of history books… have to help each other as much as we can.” Another editor and publisher who considers obituaries to be news and doesn’t “I would be sad about the cost someone else pays to make these possible, but charge for them is Cheryl Peterson, of the Alcona County Review in northeastern happy about the fact I do not have to pay for them myself.” Michigan. But obits must adhere to the newspaper’s style and be devoid of any Williams said his newspapers do virtually no editing for style, are eager to add eulogizing or other personal comments. Families who don’t want to follow these photos, and receive few complaints — only compliments — about this vital com- guidelines must pay for the obituary, and the Alcona County Review labels it as munity service they provide. He said he once considered charging for obituaries, paid advertising. as the funeral homes in his area were surprised he wasn’t already following this “At different times in the last few years we’ve discussed charging for obits, but practice. But a telling comment from a director changed his mind forever. feel that the goodwill that is gained from it and the thank-you ads that are almost “Robert, everyone here wants their obit in your newspaper,” the director said. always placed in our newspaper after the funeral (to friends, family, etc. who have “But they feel they have to have their obits in the [nearby daily] because it makes shown support) more than makes up for the ‘lost revenue’,” Peterson said. the news available quickly. They don’t like paying for it there, but feel like they “Additionally, we don’t charge for birth announcements, engagement announce- have no choice. Once they have paid for the obit to appear there, if it is going to be ments, weddings, and milestone anniversaries — we still consider these news items another several days before your obit appears, then some people are likely to say: and important happenings in our community.” ‘Nah, let’s not pay a second time, since we’ve already paid to put it in [the daily].” Becky Dickerson, who started The Community Current in St. John, Wash., in “That’s when it dawned on me that he made sense and, ultimately, we would 1994, said she would never consider charging for obituaries. “My readers are my soon no longer be the newspaper of record that everyone knows will have every people,” she said. “These are folks who I have reported the birth of their grandkids, obituary,” Williams said. “I did not want to risk that, and that’s when I fully realized the honor roll status of their nieces and nephews and possibly the crimes of their how lucky I am to get and print free obituaries and don’t plan to change.” own children. Why is their death not newsworthy?” Andy Schotz, a reporter for The Herald-Mail, a daily newspaper in Hagerstown, Like so many other people who have placed obituaries for family members in Md., and the former chairman of SPJ’s national ethics committee, also said it was daily papers and been shocked at the price, Diane Chiddister will not charge for unfortunate that so much community history was being lost with the movement to them in her Yellow Springs (Ohio) News. “I remain proud that we can offer this paid obituaries. “In my newspaper’s pages, many people’s lives have been boiled service and believe it creates remarkable goodwill in the community, which is down to a name, age, hometown and date of funeral — two or three sentences priceless,” she said. Chiddister reserves the right to edit or cut the obituaries if tops,” he said. “It’s probably because the families don’t have the money to capture necessary, but added that she was happy to print a recent one of an Antioch College their loved one’s life. That’s a sad delineation and a loss for history. If your paper theater professor that stretched 35 inches because it was “chock full of interesting insists on money for every obit, you’ll actually be preventing the community from local history.” knowing anything about certain deaths. It will be creating, in effect, a separate Marc Wilson, CEO of TownNews.com, still recalls when the Grand Island system for people with money and those without.” (Neb.) Independent published his grandfather’s obituary and photo on page one. David Mullings, who recently sold the Ouray County Plaindealer and The “He was no celebrity or public figure — he was an area farmer who’d lived most Ridgway Sun in Colorado, said running obituaries for “free” was a misuse of the of his life in the area,” Wilson said. “But his death was front-page news to the terminology and the journalistic approach. “Do we run city council stories for Independent. As a kid, I was really impressed with the newspaper. I still have the ‘free’?” he asked. “I always operated by the motto, ‘Look for ways to get reader clipping.” submissions into the paper rather than making up rules to keep them out,” he Wilson said when he owned, published and edited the weekly Bigfork Eagle in added. “Yes, we have a necessary role as news gatekeepers, but I’ve had readers Montana, he refused to run paid obituaries. “They were news — often the deaths respond to the darnedest submitted ‘news’ items that didn’t exactly follow the high- were the talk of the town,” he said. “We re-wrote the pabulum that most of the minded ambitions learned in J-school. I understand tight finances, but newsprint is funeral homes submitted. We did allow family-written obits at no charge if they cheap. Open up those newsholes as much as possible.” were well-written. Remembering my grandfather, I tried to publish obits as often A weekly editor and publisher in Oregon said she never considered charging for as possible on page one.” obituaries when she launched her paper in May 2009. “We could use the revenue, Even Al Seiler, former editor and publisher of the Pike Press in Pittsfield, Ill.,

3 grassroots editor • spring 2011 weighed in on the discussion — three weeks before his own death. “Oh, Pandora! the photo, runs them as news copy — a practice that McTighe admits is “odd but Now we must consider whether to charge for birth announcements, engagements, not unusual.” He said the local funeral home keeps telling him that his prices are weddings, birthday celebrations, college graduation announcements, recruited not high enough. football stars and — oh, the list is endless! Why only obituaries when other “Many papers in Saskatchewan have an interesting practice,” McTighe added. funeral expenses are already high?” “They run the obit, along with the eulogy, on or near the classifieds. They charge Seiler, coincidentally, wrote his own obituary for the Pike Press and was not the display classified ad rate. I suspect this is a lucrative practice. Judging by the charged for it. His family, however, had to pay $30 to have it published in the papers I see from around Canada, I can say that the approach varies from some weekly Hancock County Journal-Pilot in Carthage, Ill., $206.50 to be in the daily papers that treat the obits as news and don’t charge much, if anything, right up to Jacksonville (Ill.) Journal-Courier, and $247.75 for the daily Quincy (Ill.) Herald- papers that treat the obits like paid ads and charge a premium rate for the space.” Whig. Bruce Valpy, managing editor of Northern News Services in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, said it was important to note the distinction between a news Rebuttal from an Ohio publisher story of the death of a prominent person and a family-supplied obituary. “We do After reading all the responses to the ISWNE Hotline question, Zender, the edi- stories on people who have died — they might be well known for a variety of tor and publisher of The Progressor-Times in Carey, Ohio, weighed in again: “Was reasons, rich or poor, but must be of news value — and talk to friends and family it my imagination or were most of the people who wanted free obits former pub- and put their lives into perspective with words and pictures. That is a news story lishers and editors? The guy who said ‘newsprint is cheap’ caused me to blurt out, that would run in our editorial section. Editorial has total control. ‘What the hell is he talking about?’ I’ve been a publisher since 1968 and I’ve never “Then there are what I call obituaries that are done by families themselves who seen it cheap. want specific information about their loved ones, often with a picture, listing sur- “Also, I think the folks who claim unpaid obits give this wonderful, accurate vivors in the family and friends. There the family has total control and they pay for picture for historical purposes are kidding themselves. Fudging the truth on the the space they use at the front of our classifieds. deceased is an age-old problem, whether you’re talking paid or unpaid. At least “I can see smaller market newspapers being under pressure to run obits in their historians of the future will know to proceed with caution because somebody paid editorial sections, but I wonder how they pick and choose as I doubt they can write to have the thing published. We try to eliminate outright lies, but, in my opinion, about or run them all. Then there is the danger of running a newsroom-generated policing for the entire truth would require the addition of an investigative reporter, obit without the family vetting it for emphasis and details. Showing stories outside and that’s whether the obit is paid or free.” of our newsroom before they run is against policy. Without giving the family edito- rial control, you stand an equal risk of making an enemy as you do a friend.” A tradition of paid obituaries in Canada Richard Mostyn, editor of the Yukon News in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, said he would never “prostitute” his newsroom by assigning reporters to write paid When he owned the Stanstead Journal, Quebec’s oldest weekly newspaper, obituary notices and running them in the paper’s newshole. “Funeral announce- Greg Duncan discovered that obituaries were always part of the “bread and butter” ments and family generated memorials — with the names of the deceased’s favou- of that publication, founded in 1845. “In reading century-and-a-half-old archives, rite goldfish — should be booked through the ad department,” Mostyn said. “What I learned that literal trades for bread and butter and sugar were common in I object to is people buying editorial content. Our staff writes stories about people exchange for placement of ‘announcements’ in the paper,” said Duncan, now the who die. And the newsroom decides who gets the obit. We don’t charge the family executive director of the Quebec Community Newspapers Association. “There was for the honour — because we thought the person’s passing was of interest to our the occasional livestock trade as well, but that’s another story. readers.” “All this to say that Canadian publications seem to have been charging for obits Interestingly, a weekly in Ontario refuses to publish death notices supplied by for a very, very long time.” the three funeral homes in its community — on principle. “I have been told that Robertson Davies, the famed Canadian novelist, has one of his characters in they pay the daily paper (the Timmins Daily Press) to run the obits,” said Len Gillis, Leaven of Malice — the dean of a cathedral church — follow “his professional editor of the Timmins (Ontario) Times. “The death notices in the daily paper are part habit to turn first to the column of Births, Marriages and Death — Hatch, Match of the funeral package that is sold to families of the deceased. The funeral homes and Dispatch as he called it when he was being funny — to see if there was any- provide the obit information to our paper, but we do not run them since the funeral thing there which called for his attention.” Martha Perkins, editor of the Bowen homes will not pay. Their argument is that since we publish only once a week, we Island Undercurrent in British Columbia, said it was Davies who first introduced do not serve the immediate function of providing current information on the her to the “three sisters of the classified pages — hatch (births), match (weddings) funeral service, time and place, etc.” and dispatch (deaths).” Gillis said in the event of a death of a community leader or some other promi- “I believe that, historically, most Canadian newspapers put death notices in the nent person, his staff treats it like a local news story and includes funeral informa- classified pages,” Perkins said. “They are a major source of revenue and people tion. “But our paper is a free paper, so there is no revenue from circulation,” he know to look for them there. Anecdotally, in Leaven of Malice, one of the charac- added. “We run lots of ads and our news space is at a premium.” ters is a small town editor who has a love/hate relationship with a prominent citi- Another weekly in Ontario, the Flamborough Review in Waterdown, offered zen. The editor has pre-written the citizen’s obituary. When the editor is happy with complimentary birth, death, wedding, and engagement announcements until 2003, the citizen, the lead and adjectives are flattering; when he’s mad at the citizen, he when it was purchased by Metroland Media, which mandated that all become paid changes the writing to be more derogatory. It’s very funny.” advertisements. “The transition was challenging, as the ‘old-timers’ who had never Frank McTighe, editor and publisher of the Macleod Gazette in Fort Macleod, paid for ads were reluctant to start,” said editor Brenda Jefferies. “New customers Alberta, said most Alberta newspapers ran obituaries for free when he entered the were an easier sell. business in 1982. “They were submitted by the family or the funeral home and ran “In the case of the obituaries, the Review has reached a creative solution. For a with little editing,” he said. “Since then the approach has changed to where the full obit in the classified section, there is a cost to the individual placing it. majority, but not all, Alberta papers are charging for obituaries. The rates they However, the local funeral home (we only have one), as part of its advertising charge vary. Some papers charge display classified ad rates for the space that is program, places a small ad on page two that includes the names of the recently used. They run them on or near the classified pages. I would suggest this is the deceased (over the past week). From there, readers can go to their website or con- approach of some of the big newspaper companies.” tact the funeral home for times and arrangements, if there is no paid announcement The Macleod Gazette, which charges a modest $30 for the obituary and $5 for in the paper.”

4 grassroots editor • spring 2011

A handful of Canadian weeklies are holding the line against charging for obitu- the first things people turn to is the obits. aries, although there are some distinctions. “The freebie ones are when a family has “We do lose money by not charging, but on the other hand, everyone at the one already written, less than 400 words,” said Derek Kilbourn, editor of the funeral is going to buy the paper to see their name. Some of them might be new Gabriola Sounder in Gabriola Island, B.C. “If we have to write it for them (write, readers and could then realise what a fantastic paper we are. People also buy the not type, that is) or if it is more than 400 words, we then have rates comparable to paper to post out to relatives.” our standard display ad rates that we will charge.” Like many of his American counterparts, Condliffe believes obituaries are an In Alberta, both The Mountaineer in Rocky Mountain House and the Consort important part of a community’s historical record. He said he has created a house Enterprise still provide obituaries free of charge. For The Mountaineer, it’s a sim- ad to encourage families to provide even more biographical information. “It makes ple decision because its main competitor, a “free to give away weekly” shopping for fascinating reading at times and I’d hate to think we’d limit it by charging.” circular just a few miles away, doesn’t charge either. In Consort, owner/editor Dave The Congleton Chronicle does charge £30 each for death notices — announcing Bruha is looking for dividends down the road. the details of the death and time of the funeral — and for “expressions of thanks” “As local ad revenue continues to slowly shrink away, we punt this cement after the funeral. But the no-word-limit biography, photo, and “list of mourners” football back and forth in our office about every six months,” Bruha said. “Our are free. holdout to charging for obituaries is rooted in one concept that always tips the scale Ireland’s community newspapers lack the systematic publishing of obituaries back to continuing to publish at no charge. We are a small (minuscule by most commonly found in the United States. Irish papers rely on relatives to supply the standards) paper: 1,300 paid circulation in a market of about 2,000 people. We obits, or the details for one, except in the case of a prominent citizen whose death strive to have subscription revenue cover printing costs of 16 pages per week — would be a major news story. meaning our readers have paid to receive a certain amount of content independent of advertising. Obituaries are part of the content that readers expect to see in their “Our local notes sections, supplied by correspondents or community organisa- paper — it is ‘the news’ in their opinion. tions, will often contain a paragraph or two about local deaths, and sometimes a longer piece,” said David Burke, editor of the Tuam Herald. “It is all very hit and “Charging for obituaries may be an easy way to pump up revenue and show miss. The bottom line is that no newspaper that I know of charges for obituaries.” some growth on the balance sheet, but not charging also has been good for business — perhaps less tangible than dollars in the bank, but the families of the deceased Burke said there was an important source of revenue connected with death com- remember that tiny bit of goodwill and are loyal readers and advertisers (everyone ing in two streams — the acknowledgement or card of thanks published about three is a potential advertiser). It does pay, just not immediately. Our philosophy is that weeks afterward, and an “In Memoriam” notice published on the anniversary of if we take care of our readers and produce a product that they will not only read, the death. Both are charged at classified lineage rates, with additional charges for but also pay to receive, then the advertising will follow the herd.” photos and borders. Burke said it was not uncommon for some families to purchase “In Memoriams” for 25 or 30 years. In Australia, paid death notices are an important revenue stream for newspapers. To show its readers just how It is important to note that the term “obituary” relates to an often-lengthy article much it is giving away, the Consort about a person’s life that appears in the news section of the newspaper. The paid Enterprise totals up all the free death or funeral notices run in the classifieds section and are often inserted by the space in each issue and runs a small funeral directors. graphic showing the amount on the opinions page. The free space At the three papers managed by Matt Jenkins in Victoria — the Benalla Ensign, includes obituaries, check presenta- the Cobram Courier, and the Seymour Telegraph — death and funeral notices run tions, and other public service at the general lineage rate of $33.80 for six lines (24 words). These reports, along announcements. with “In Memoriam” notices, are considered “Personals” and carry the highest premium rates in the classified section. “No one knows what is free space and what is paid space — they On the other hand, Jenkins said his newsrooms initiate four or five uncharged, just know The Enterprise contributes to the community every week,” Bruha said. general news obituaries every year. “These most often feature community and “I know that saying obits are ‘news’ and then counting them as donated ad space social leaders; long-serving doctors, sporting legends, political and council or is contradictory, but newspapers are not just black and white any more.” political leaders,” he said. “Most often this is done with the close support and involvement of the family of the deceased. These are very prized when we do pres- ent them.” Obituary practices around the world Jenkins said the paid death notices in Australian classified sections outnumber In the United Kingdom, the majority of local newspapers carry a traditional the editorial obituaries approximately 100 to one. BMDs (Births, Marriages, Deaths) page either in the classifieds section or on page David Sommerlad, formerly the executive director of Country Press Australia, two. Other papers have a section where they publish the death notices alongside said he had never known a newspaper to charge for an obituary — the editorial the editorial coverage. As with some of the Canadian papers, some in the U.K. will treatment — in his more than 60 years in the business. carry newsworthy obituaries written by reporters; the family may also have paid for a death announcement, but the two are not linked. “The long custom among community and regional (even metro) newspapers is that any citizen who had had any prominence or had been involved in any worthy “BMDs remain an important traditional element of local newspapers in the U.K. community, business or public activity — even long ago — was deserving of treat- and, of course, this is not confined merely to death notices — there are the usual ment as a news item when they died — even if they had left the district,” births, marriages, engagements, in memoriam, and birthday announcements, too,” Sommerlad said. “Their contribution or public persona dictated the amount of said Anthony Longden, managing editor of the Newsquest North and East London space. publications. “And, in these windswept times, all paid for, thank goodness.” “What is interesting to note is that, during the past say 30 years, with increasing At least one English editor is bucking the system by continuing to offer free numbers of independent papers being sold to big group proprietors and the subse- obituaries. “We’re clearly out of step by not charging, but I agree that obituary quent reduction in editorial staffs to the basic operational minimum, the range of reports are news and a popular part of the paper,” said Jeremy Condliffe, editor of published journalism is dramatically less, and ‘personal’ articles such as obituaries the Congleton Chronicle. “Go into any shop in Congleton on a Friday and one of have dropped to absolute bedrock. This is so different from my days publishing our

5 grassroots editor • spring 2011 newspapers, when articles about people alive as well as dead were treated as the interesting that while we are all weekly newspapers, there are vast differences core necessity for wide readership. It is just the reverse these days with ‘news’ between one publication and the next. In an ideal world, I would say obituaries are pages being at the absolute minimum.” news and we don’t charge for news. But in this cash-strapped, recession-ridden Sommerlad, who reviewed a preliminary draft of this article, concluded that the world I want to say, gosh, here’s a small but steady revenue stream to create. issue of paid vs. free “obituaries” results mainly from national culture, the size of “In addition to all of you, I thought it prudent to touch base with the funeral the community, the circulation of the newspaper, and the frequency of publication. directors who will be most directly affected. What I discovered was, in ways, our “The other factor is that the smaller the newspaper, the closer it is to its com- two newspapers are as different from one another as any two members of ISWNE munity and hence its approach to news,” he said. “The bigger the newspaper, the are. While charging a modest amount would probably be well tolerated in one less ‘personal’ — the higher the costs of production and the need for revenue. At paper, it would not have flown at all at the other where they are also served by an the lower end a lot depends on the motivation of the publisher. Is he/she in the expensive daily and an inexpensive daily. One funeral home director told me game with an underlying responsibility towards community service or is it to make frankly that he didn’t think anyone would place them in our paper because ser- a sustainable income or simply to ‘make money — as much as I can!’” vices are usually all over with by the time our paper comes out, and it was impor- tant for families to use a daily to get the word out. That backed me up to our need to be a newspaper of record. We have a great staff that routinely beats both of the What did the editor decide to do? dailies on stories, but I can’t beat them on obits. Remember the weekly newspaper editor in Illinois who decided to start charging “The bottom line is we will look for other new revenue streams to tap.” for obituaries and sought advice from the ISWNE Hotline? After reading all the responses, Wendy Martin, who publishes the Mason County Democrat and the Fulton Democrat with her husband, Bob, decided to drop the idea. She explained: Chad Stebbins is executive director of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors and a professor of journalism at Missouri Southern State “Your insights and personal experiences gave us a lot to mull over. And it was University. He can be contacted at [email protected].

6 grassroots editor • spring 2011 Free and full publication of obituaries: The essence of a reputable local newspaper By Brian Burmester everything and anyone of relevance in that paper’s circulation area in a particular time frame. Since that time recourse to the local newspaper for factual, comprehen- There is no charge for obituaries in New Zealand community papers, or in pro- sive, historical record is simply no longer an option. Newspapers have lost the vincial or metropolitan newspapers for that matter. There are very rare exceptions long-serving experienced newspaper editors who were the repositories of local in the metro dailies where a classified death notice may be extended (at some great knowledge and knew well their readers. They have been replaced by young jour- cost) to satisfy the wishes of a bereaved family who wants recognition for the nalists mass-produced in academic environments who are just passing through departed whose lifetime contributions may not have been considered sufficiently while progressing towards their Bernstein and Woodward moment or the invitation newsworthy. to join a PR firm or communications department of a leading corporation. Local I don’t doubt that our dailies would like to develop a revenue stream through happenings — particularly obituaries — just don’t excite them. wider publication of obits, but I think in our more conservative corner of the world My first assignment on my first day as reporter on a small daily was to be sent such a move would be resisted. There exist one or two online “memories” sites by the editor to cover the funeral of a local identity. I suspect I was sent on this job where people can post tributes, but they haven’t really caught on as yet. more as a ruse to keep me out from under the editor’s feet and give me something I have noticed with some concern that local newspapers are no longer actively “soft” to do away from the busy main reporting team. I approached the job with pursuing obituaries as valuable news integral to their local news mandate. Too trepidation fearing as much that I might offend the family by intruding on their often when questioned on the absence of any news column reference to a deceased, private grief as worrying about what I could possibly find to write about this man. a local editor will protest on grounds of not being aware/advised of the relevance/ My fears were quickly overcome. I was welcomed in the home of the bereaved by importance of the deceased to the community, or will expect that anyone who people eager to talk about the life and work of a man who I discovered (as much wants an obituary published should prepare it themselves and submit it where it to my editor’s surprise) had a distinguished sporting and military record and had might be considered for publication if “space allows.” amazing interests and hobbies, among them gold mining and geology which were pertinent to the area. I learned more about a variety of things on that day than I had There are reasons for this. Chain-operated newspapers with frequent turnover of gained from years of reading textbooks. My story when published won the grati- editorial staff no longer have intimate local knowledge of their communities and tude of a wide and influential family circle, provided me with a greatly expanded really do rely on being told by others of the importance or otherwise of a deceased contact list and earned plaudits from a readership which could identify with the person’s status or lifetime achievements. This disguises the fact that they regard deceased by learning of things held in common. Recognition of the man’s life was obituaries as somewhat unnecessary and a relic of earlier times when local journal- regarded it as a compliment to local aspirations. ism existed as the primary local record. (It also disguises the fact that journalists no longer bother to get out and about their communities to find out who’s who and Over the years I have drilled into my young journalists the value of obituary what’s what!) writing as much for its newsworthiness and local good as for its training exercise in interviewing techniques. There is probably no greater challenge in eliciting Even in the NZ Herald, our leading daily newspaper, there is little regard for a information and discovering new and interesting issues to explore than in the sym- tribute unless the deceased is a notable public figure who has distinguished them- pathetic, empathetic approach required for an obituary. I continue to exhort the selves in some manner in which case the passing would be handled as a general value of obituary writing at journalism seminars and am surprised to discover that news item. But the Herald allows a half broadsheet page once a week in its classi- it is seldom taught and poorly understood in curriculums at journalist academies. fied Death Notices section for selected obituaries, sometimes written by a con- Trainee journalists too often regard obituary writing with a mixture of fear and tracted specialist journalist or most often gleaned from other publications. This disinterest but I endeavour to show them, using practical exercises, how it can space is given to one or two larger items and series of perhaps five or six para- produce eye-opening information as well as open up a wealth of news resources graphs of no “local” interest at all. They refer to international figures, Hollywood which can lead to bigger and brighter stories. actors or obscure celebrities or personages whose actual existence would hitherto have been unknown to most. Many of these items are conveniently and cheaply Last year I had an experience with the current attitudes to publication of obituar- provided by the Herald’s sister publications, such as The Independent in the UK. I ies when an old friend and family solicitor (legal advisor) died. The funeral in a regularly cast a newsman’s eye over the accompanying formal death notices and, town where he was 60 years earlier the first lawyer to set up practice attracted without fail, find in a list of 40 or 50 at least a dozen which would demand follow- 300-plus mourners and tributes from around the world. Yet not a word appeared in up and yield interesting news stories of lives well lived and distinctive contribu- the local paper. After learning that his family felt somewhat slighted I approached tions made in particular spheres. the paper and was told by the editor that 1) she had seen the formal funeral announcement printed in her paper but did not attach any newsworthy significance I believe that free and full publication of obituaries is the essence of a reputable to it; 2) that if someone wanted something published in the paper it was up to them local newspaper. Readers expect that the “local” will identify with them in private to provide it and she would make a decision according to her judgement on its news and personal losses and reflect community compassion and pride as well as value; and 3) that, in spite of the above, it was unlikely that she would have space achievement. And, needless to say, publication makes a valuable contribution to the available in her paper’s precious 20 percent newshole to devote to an obit. historical record of the community. I offered to submit an item which was at first neglected but on a change of editor On this latter point, from an erstwhile historian’s viewpoint, I can state that up eventually published along with a photograph which pictured this small town until, say, the mid-1980s in this country it was possible to go to any local newspa- solicitor and passionate guardian of the law with three of his eight children he had per archive and be reliably (about 90 percent anyway) informed on just about

7 grassroots editor • spring 2011 encouraged and sponsored into highly successful legal careers. One of them, his notification of any death in the community. Good journalism demands it and the daughter, married to a leading New Zealand Queen’s Counsel, had just completed readership expects it. a rare and winning appeal to the Privy Council, London, on a major national issue. When the passing of citizens is ignored without reference, the community takes It also showed how, among many other things, this lawyer had helped over the collective note and the newspaper’s authority and judgment is diminished. And if years with the formation, financial structuring and launching of a few of New the newspaper ranks its value of community worth to only those who bother to Zealand’s largest and most influential manufacturing industries. On a personal note write in (or pay for publication) then it risks presenting an unfair and disproportion- I could show that the deceased had sired eight children, among them three sets of ate reflection on that community’s character and quality. twins (a lawyer produced from each set). When the new editor of the paper read my submission he expressed surprise that a person of such influence and interest had resided in his newfound community and had remained below the newspaper’s Brian Burmester is editor and publisher of Local News New Zealand. He can be radar. My advice to him, as it has been to others, was to follow up every lead on contacted at [email protected].

8 grassroots editor • spring 2011 To charge for obituaries is to deprive readers, historians of insights into lives of our citizens By Jeremy Condliffe Germany following the D-Day landings. Mr Parker returned to his job at a textile mill where he remained until his retirement in 1985, 50 years’ employment “with A recent ISWNE Hotline debate discussed charging for “obits,” and an interest- only four days off for sickness.” ing topic it proved. Early replies came from pro-charging newspapers, but the Congleton has close links with Holland: 70 years ago, the remnants of the Dutch non-chargers soon rallied, agreeing that obits were news, not revenue. army gathered in Congleton and the Prinses Irene Brigade, which still exists, was We charge for notices giving funeral details but print as news a brief report (John formed. Typical of the era was Phyllis Van Weerdenburg, who died in December. Smith died aged 80, married to, funeral at) and, later, the full funeral report, ide- In 1940 she met Andreas Van Weerdenburg, who was billeted to Congleton. They ally with biography, photo and list of mourners. They take up space but record the were married in 1941. Mrs Van Weerdenburg honoured the Dutch throughout her passing of our town’s citizens, make interesting reading and give future historians life. Her obituary recalled: “She had a great regard for…the sacrifices made by her some meat on the bones of the bare historical facts. generation during the war. She honoured these memories and every year on Remembrance Sunday, she followed the Dutch standard and laid a wreath at the I promised to dig up some example obits, so here they are. Arguably they con- cenotaph war memorial.” tain more detail than any paid-for report would do; thus to charge is to deprive readers and historians of insights into the lives of our citizens. Over the years, towns change and what was once commonplace becomes for- gotten. Mavis O’Brien, who died in November, worked at the Marsuma Cigar Through Dec. 10, 2010, we had printed 608 funerals, averaging a tabloid page Factory. Cigars were manufactured in the village of Havannah — that way they and a half a week. It’s time-consuming to impose some degree of style on them, could be sold as genuine Havannah cigars. There’s nothing on Wikipedia about this but the biographies can be interesting and touching — and often frustrating, to and a search on the Internet revealed little. If only we’d spoken to Mrs O’Brien realise what stories we’ve missed. before her passing. September’s obit of Brian Roberts revealed that he had worked in the control Hannah Chilton, died December 2009, supplemented her income from a local tower at nearby Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope, once the world’s biggest movable mill by working at the Capitol Cinema. Today there are no cinemas in Congleton telescope, and was driving it when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. On the and only a small shopping arcade, Capitol Walk, recalls the cinema that once stood spot at one of history’s pivotal moments — and a largely unknown piece of Cold there. War subterfuge, as some research found. Keith Johnson, who died in July, like many young men started work at coach In 1969, Jodrell Bank had no official part in the landing but its founder, Sir builder JH Jennings, where he worked on horseboxes and cattle trucks. Truck Bernard Lovell, was listening to lunar transmissions. They weren’t all American. maker ERF bought Jennings but he continued to work with the company. ERF and The Russians wanted to put an unmanned spacecraft down the same day. The rest fellow local truckmaker Foden were both eventually taken over — Foden by of the world watched Armstrong and Apollo, but Jodrell Bank was monitoring the Leyland DAF, ERF by Paccar then MAN — and both marques have disappeared. Russians. A Soviet spacecraft crash-landed onto the moon at 3:50 p.m. on 21st July, The land they occupied is now housing. Mr Johnson ended his working life at just hours before Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin lifted off. Saxon Sanbec, making fire engines — another firm that now gone, a town’s long The story only recently came to light with the discovery of archive recordings tradition remembered only in obituaries. from Jodrell Bank’s control room. Sir Bernard narrates before noting a change in We cover a former mining town and regularly report the death of miners, outliv- the orbit of the spacecraft, taking it closer to the U.S. landing site. People can be ing the industry that predeceased them by some years. Typical was Dennis Spender, heard saying: “It’s going down much too fast” moments before it crashed. (As who died in October, who was a Bevin boy in WWII. Bevin Boys — named after we’re British, a voice was later heard saying “I say, this has really been drama of minister Ernest Bevin — were young men conscripted into the coalmines during the highest order.”) And Mr Roberts was there. WWII, from December 1943 until 1948. Chosen at random, they also included Roy Stubbs, who died in June, joined the Army as a Grenadier Guard — and his volunteers, nearly 48,000 in all. When Mr Spender wasn’t down the mine, he first official duty in full uniform was the Queen’s Coronation in 1954. What worked as a member of the Home Guard. Many former miners whose deaths we memories did he have? William McRae, who died in November aged only 48, had report had worked elsewhere in England, moving to Biddulph looking for work, a served on the Royal Yacht Britannia and on HMS Minerva during the Falklands fluid workforce in hard times. War. It wasn’t just men who did domestic war work. Brenda Green, who died in Talking of war, given the time-spans involved, many obits mention WWII. February, was posted to Radway Green munitions factory in the Naval inspection David Williams, died January, joined the RAF in 1937 and served throughout the department. Joyce Cooper, who died in November, served in the Land Army. “It hostilities on 44 Squadron and 264 Squadron, along with others. A mechanic, he was only recently that this service to the country was recognised and she was proud was probably ground crew, but 44 Squadron was part of the (in)famous Bomber of her medal and certificate,” her obit recorded. Harris’s number five group — it was Harris who developed carpet-bombing and There are the vignettes of human life, some funny and some sad. Joyce Woolley, thus the Dresden firestorm. The 264 Squadron flew Boulton Paul Defiant fighters who died in September, was a clever child but her obituary recalled: “Circumstances but the plane was vulnerable to attack and they suffered heavy losses. It re-trained didn’t allow her to fulfill her potential and the financial need for her to begin work for night-fighting but returned to days during the Battle of Britain, again suffering put an end to her aspirations of being a teacher.” Marjorie Pirie spent a lot of time heavy losses. with her granddaughter Jade “who has inherited her love for animals and shop- George Green, died in March, served with the RAF in the Middle East, East ping.” Africa, Ceylon and Hong Kong, working as an electrical engineer, mainly on Roy Stubbs, who died in June, and was mentioned above, lost his first wife of Sunderland Flying boats. Bert Parker, died December 2009, joined the Royal some years but after four years of staying in, went to a country and western night. Engineers and served in the Middle East, Africa, Italy and then France and “After an extra can of Guinness,” he asked a lady out, and three months later they

9 grassroots editor • spring 2011 decided to get married. Winston Dutton, who died in October, had a passion for his epitaph is as good as anyone could hope for: “The wise old owl has left many bingo “but after receiving a parking ticket in Tunstall, gave (it) up.” fond memories for generations of the Snelson clan to remember and strive towards.” My own favourites are stories of normal lives well lived. But my favourite obit of the year was that of Bill Robinson, aged 84, a former Hazel Stanway, who died in January, lived on rural Congleton Edge Road, centre lathe turner, grower of prize-winning chrysanthemums and avid reader: which was her “dream from childhood…neither she nor her husband would have “There was hardly a thriller or mystery novel in Sandbach Library that did not changed it for Buckingham Palace.” The obit added: “It was often said that Mrs contain the initials JWR inside the back cover.” He was also a keen musician, as Stanway was born with a duster in her hand” and then recalled the event that half his obituary reported: “He played piano and in his younger days played the organ of us will have to face at some time in our lives: she lost her husband “and her at Elworth Church — until he was shown the door when the vicar caught him play- world was shattered.” But it ended: “She would have slipped effortlessly into the ing boogie-woogie before the service.” pages of a Beatrix Potter book; what a great role model she would be for all who I’d bet no chargeable obit would ever find space for that classic. read it.” Similarly, Alfred Sidney Snelson, who died in January, had an obit that exhaust- Jeremy Condliffe is president of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper ed me reading it. He led his family on historical and nature tours, took up bowling Editors and publisher of the Congleton Chronicle in Congleton, Chesire, England. when he retired, loved his garden, particularly his prize-winning chrysanthemums, He can be contacted at [email protected]. loved dogs, hens and budgies, and walked miles with his dogs. Like Mrs Stanway,

10 grassroots editor • spring 2011 Book re-tells brave story of Hazel Brannon Smith By Garrett W. Ray urged his resignation; the sheriff sued for li- bel. Hazel’s transformation had begun. Who remembers Hazel Brannon Smith? In the 1960s, any member of the Inter- A prominent business leader approached national Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors would have responded, “Hazel? Of her in 1954, expecting her to support the course! How’s she doing?” formation of a local White Citizens’ Coun- The same question today would be likely to draw a blank stare. Fortunately, a cil. The council, he explained, would not new book re-tells the brave editor’s story in a historical and cultural context, provid- use violence; economic and social pres- ing an important example for today’s community newspaper editors. sures would be sufficient to frighten black The book is Burning Crosses and Activist Journalism: Hazel Brannon Smith citizens. Hazel refused and publicly con- and the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, by Prof. Jan Whitt (University Press demned the effort. From that time forward, of America, 2010). she found herself at war with the local The editor and owner of the Lexington, Miss., Advertiser was well known and power structure. Soon not only blacks but greatly admired by the first generation of ISWNE members. She received the also the editor encountered harassment. As Golden Quill award in 1963, a year before receiving the Pulitzer Prize for editorial blacks began to seek voting rights, equal writing, and she was ISWNE president in 1981-82. Hazel’s stirring defense of hu- education, and fair treatment from law en- man rights and the rule of law won national awards and attention in the 1950s and forcement, tensions escalated. Smith con- ‘60s. Her courage also brought an onslaught of vicious opposition that ruined her demned shootings and firebombings de- newspapers and destroyed her health. signed to intimidate black citizens, finding But her enemies never broke her spirit. At the ISWNE summer conference in to her disappointment that few white residents shared her outrage. 1975, she reviewed without bitterness a two-decade history of threats, pressure Whitt catalogs the attacks on Smith and her papers during the next decade: gov- from government officials, an advertising boycott, a cross-burning, firebombing ernment pressure, a devastating advertising boycott, creation of a competing news- of her office, and former friends’ ostracism. Yet “I’d do it all again,” Smith said. “I paper, threats to merchants who supported her paper, the firing of her husband as knew that I was doing what needed to be done.” administrator of the local hospital, and more. Hazel finally understood personally Her life had begun to run tragically downhill by the time she attended what may the climate of intimidation that blacks had known for generations. have been her last conference in 1982, yet she remained full of dramatic stories and She responded with vigor in editorials and her personal column. Whitt provides good humor. Few of her conference colleagues could have predicted that within many examples of Smith’s writing, confirming that she was not only courageous; three years, Hazel would be bankrupt. she was a powerful and articulate champion of her beliefs. Jan Whitt documents Smith’s story in voluminous and often repetitious detail, The author creates a broad context for the time and events that affected Smith recounting not only the appalling history of opposition to her newspaper campaigns and her work. She examines the oppressive, paranoid and destructive role of the but also her struggle to reconcile her own life experience with the environment she White Citizens’ Councils; the loyal support from a few other Southern editors, no- plunged into as a 21-year-old editor in 1935. tably Ira B. Harkey Jr. and Hodding Carter Jr.; and the efforts of liberal friends in Whitt connects media as diverse as the novels of William Faulkner and Thomas the national press to support her. Wolfe and films such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Mississippi Burning, finding Whitt’s book is academic in approach and flavor, with extensive references to that the story of a handful of progressive Southern editors arose out of a century other publications. The organization is choppy, often repetitious and sometimes of insular life in the Old South — a complex web of economics, culture, traditions confusing. Although the heavy writing style makes for slow going, her thorough and tragic history. research and broad overview make it worth the effort. The legacy of slavery loomed over every relationship and decision. Whitt im- Whitt’s study draws heavily from the late John Whalen’s lively and heart- plies that in the mid-century period of wrenching social change, even the most cau- wrenching biography, Maverick Among the Magnolias: The Hazel Brannon Smith tious and conciliatory challenges to the racial status quo would produce inevitable Story (Xlibris, 2000). Whalen, an ISWNE member, recognized the bonds of mutual conflict. Hazel Brannon Smith seemed a most unlikely challenger. admiration that connected Smith to the weekly editors’ group, and he captures the “Smith had no idea when she walked into her newspaper office on her first day relationship in several anecdotes. of work that Mississippi would become a cauldron of civil rights struggle,” the Whalen was a fine storyteller. His book is loaded with revealing human details author observes. Hazel was a beautiful, charming young woman who enjoyed the that dramatize the paranoia, pressure and fear generated by the Citizens’ Councils good life and absorbed and accepted her Southern upbringing and culture. She be- and white establishment leaders. His final chapters describe the financial failure gan her career as a politically conservative, fervently anti-communist opponent of of the newspapers, Smith’s isolation from the town and people she loved, and her integration, even editorializing against blood banks sharing white and negro (the steady physical and mental decline. They are touching. word was not capitalized) blood donations. Whitt’s wide-ranging study and Whalen’s re-telling of Hazel’s life complement So what turned this Southern belle into a fierce champion of equal rights, justice, each other, together creating an inspiring portrait of a journalist whose spirit should and — ultimately — integrated schools and public institutions? “Smith’s trouble be remembered and emulated. in her community escalated slowly, and her crime was simply her determination Hazel died on May 15, 1994, and today few journalists working in any medium to produce fair and responsible community journalism,” Whitt writes, also credit- would recognize her name. But she is remembered in one particular, poignant way: ing Smith’s Christian beliefs, strong sense of fairness, and stubborn independence. The website of the City of Lexington, Miss., includes biographies of six deceased During her first two decades, she was a successful but unexceptional publisher residents described as “past notables.” Among them is Hazel Brannon Smith. who gradually expanded her group of small-town newspapers. Even so, within a Her life leaves an important question for every editor to answer: Writing in few years after beginning, she was rocking the boat, challenging a county sheriff’s Grassroots Editor after her death, Roy Steinfort of the First Amendment Center failure to arrest bootleggers. Her campaign resulted in a grand jury’s issuing 64 asked, “How many editors today have Hazel Brannon Smith’s courage, and would indictments for organized crime. be willing to pay the price she did?” In 1954 a later sheriff shot a black man in the back without justification. After investigating, Hazel wrote that the sheriff “has violated every concept of justice, Garrett W. Ray is a former weekly newspaper editor and university journalism pro- decency and right in his treatment of some of the people in Holmes county.” She fessor. He can be contacted at [email protected].

11 grassroots editor • spring 2011 A note about ISWNE would improve ‘Newspapers’ By Kenneth Starck ship, ethics and law. It’s a fast paced journey but well worth the effort of anyone trying to This book review originally appeared in the German online journal r:k:m, which understand the part played by newspapers can be found at http://www.rkm journal.de. r:k:m is a central review board for in establishing a foundation for a society communications and media studies as well as such related disciplines as sociology carrying on a vigorous conversation with and political science. itself. The book contains many keen insights. Mike Farrell and Mary Carmen Cupito. Newspapers: A Complete Guide to the Two examples: comparing the shrill tone Industry. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 2010. 229 pages. of early American journalism with the stri- dency of bloggers today and exploring the This is a compact review of the legacy of newspapers in the United States cul- apparent contradiction that while journalists minating in an attempt to bridge the fading presence of print with the explosive today seem to place more emphasis on eth- nature of the Internet. ics, public distrust of the news media seems The book is intended as a textbook for an introductory news or journalism to increase. course. The book achieves this goal admirably. Another goal is to argue for the Other than the danger of such a book enduring presence of newspapers but to point to a news environment that is increas- quickly becoming dated (even as I write this ingly mediated electronically. In this regard, the authors are less successful. comes a report that Facebook could replace First, the broad contours of the book. There are 11 chapters. The first nine con- Twitter as a journalistic platform), there are centrate on newspapers with occasional references to the Internet. The 10th chapter few quibbles. But here’s one: Chapter five is titled “The Role of the Rural Press.” (“The Newspaper Meets the Internet”) unveils the power and impact of the new This seems entirely appropriate for an often neglected aspect of journalism. Promi- technology and, as noted in the text, is written by a colleague of the authors, Debo- nently mentioned is the work of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community rah S. Chung. She does a good job. Mainly she focuses on the three facets of me- Issues, established in 2004 and based at the University of Kentucky. Worthy of dia convergence — technology, economics and regulation. She notes how the new mention would have been the work of the International Society of Weekly Newspa- technology makes it easier for citizens to participate in civic discourse and points per Editors, which has promoted and recognized community oriented newspaper- out challenges facing journalism educators in devising a curriculum appropriate to ing since 1955 (http://www.iswne.org/). the rapidly changing media environment. The 11th and final chapter tries to identify possible emerging journalistic sce- But it is the first nine chapters that make up the bulk of the book. These are well narios. Optimism for newspapers prevails, albeit parenthetically. The title of the last written, extensively researched (837 total citations) and supported by the authors’ chapter: “The Future (Because There Will Be One”). Arguably, the most important strong professional and academic credentials. observation in the book comes near the end. Eloquently and tersely, they editors After a 20 year career as a newspaper reporter and editor, Farrell teaches journal- state their main thesis for the endurance of journalism: “A free press cannot exist ism at the University of Kentucky. Cupito teaches at Northern Kentucky Univer- without a democracy, and a democracy cannot exist without a free press” (p. 216). sity, having worked in public relations and as a freelance writer. As a former newspaper reporter and long time journalism educator myself, I In their panoramic view of the world of newspapers, they present a succinct and think Newspapers would be a useful text in an introductory journalism course. But reasonably complete overview of newspapers and, along the way, news in general. today, when young people are inclined to carry their media in pockets or purses, the The work is highly readable, even absorbing (a compliment for any textbook!). classroom will require ever current resources and methods to cope with a turbulent They draw on many real world examples to illustrate or reinforce important points. media environment. The authors begin their treatise at the beginning, that is, news — what is it? Lots of different things, it turns out. Take as an example the news of John F. Kennedy’s Newspapers is the sixth volume in the publisher’s series on media industries. Previ- assassination in 1963. And the news of the moon landing a few years later. Then ous volumes have dealt with broadcast, magazines and radio. they tell of a news tip to a reporter that a so called “century plant” that blooms as rarely as once every 100 years was — maybe — about to bloom. It’s all news, of Dr. Kenneth Starck, a former newspaper reporter, is emeritus professor at The Uni- one sort or another. The point is made: “Deciding what is news is the most impor- versity of Iowa, where he was long time director of the School of Journalism and tant element of the journalistic process” (p. 4). And that plant, after attracting wide Mass Communication. He also served as dean of the College of Communication local attention, sadly, did not even bloom. and Media Sciences at Zayed University, United Arab Emirates. He can be con- From news, the authors, chapter by chapter, traverse a vast plain: newspaper his- tacted at [email protected]. tory, press freedom, roles of a free press (including rural press), readership, owner-

12 grassroots editor • spring 2011 An interview with three small-town advocates Challenges and opportunities abound in rural communities By Ronald Wirtz seven, depending on the census you look at. One may wonder why some of the smaller cities even exist, and the reason can This article originally appeared in the October 2010 issue of the fedgazette, a quar- often be traced back to planning and zoning laws. Cities, unlike townships, have terly business and economics journal published by the Federal Reserve Bank of autonomy on zoning. There have been cities incorporated for the sole purpose of Minneapolis. It is being republished with permission. controlling their zoning or to prevent annexation by a neighboring city. But the common thread of the most vibrant and vital small cities I know is a common vision This summer, the Center for Small Towns at the University of Minnesota-Morris of the future and to preserve the past. hosted a two-day symposium regarding the health and outlook of small towns. Af- Leonard: Ditto on Bart’s and Dave’s responses. Viability also depends on the terward, the fedgazette took the opportunity to organize a round-robin interview via remoteness of the town and the can-do spirit of the people. A town considered very e-mail with three small-town and rural advocates: Bart Finzel, CST interim direc- small — under 500, for example — could be a vibrant regional center if it is in a tor; Dave Engstrom, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Small Cit- very rural area with even smaller towns or hamlets around it and has some essen- ies; and Jane Leonard, former president of Minnesota Rural Partners and now man- tial places and services — a post office, church, community center, food, gas and ager of the leadership and community engagement team at the Bush Foundation. hardware. fedgazette: First, how did small towns fare during the recession? fedgazette: There is a lot of attention paid to small-town sustainability, which Jane Leonard: Small towns and rural areas did better than urban and exurban seems to imply a lack of sustainability currently. What exactly is the sustainability areas in the first year of the recession, due primarily to strong commodity prices for threat? What threats are systemic and affect virtually all small towns, and which farmers, which in turn contributed to small-town Main Street doing better relative ones are more selective, or even anecdotal? to its urban counterparts. Engstrom: From my observation, the biggest systemic threat is related to popu- Small towns were not as affected by the housing downturns and contractions in lation decline, and specifically among younger age groups. As the population in finance and banking, in part because they weren’t as exposed as urban areas in the small cities declines and grows older, there is less consumer activity, causing a residential housing and commercial real estate markets. However, the length of the decline in retail business. Also, school districts with fewer students fuel the local current recession is now making its mark on rural areas and small towns because of economy less. It’s a vicious cycle once it starts. The decline in retail and business job losses and the resulting belt-tightening by consumers. activity leads to a glut of Main Street retail buildings, which drives down property Dave Engstrom: I agree with Jane that small towns have done better than urban values and eventually leads to a decreased tax base. areas in general. Small cities in the lakes region and those with tourist economies The selective or targeted threats I have seen usually stem from a loss of a major have done fairly well. These cities tend to have higher-than-average property tax employer or in some cases a regional “big-box” retail operation opening up nearby. capacities because they have higher-end homes and thriving commercial districts. The loss of a high percentage of employment is always devastating. But when a However, as the recession has lingered, some towns seem to have been hit harder new big-box store opens up, it causes the local mom and pop businesses, grocery by the recession, like those with poor property tax capacity and a dependence on stores, hardware stores and others a lot of stress and strain and possible demise. [declining] local government aid from the state. It seems to be almost a survival of Leonard: The advent of the auto, cheap gas and better roads accelerated the the fittest. fragility of small towns. It allowed people to travel farther in less time for supplies Bart Finzel: I agree that, in general, small towns initially weathered the reces- they needed. That practice led to more regionalization in government services, edu- sion better than most urban areas. They haven’t been immune, however. In addition cation, health care and commerce, which in turn further weakened small towns. to what’s been mentioned, I would add the decrease in credit. Many small-town Higher gas prices curtailed some of the regional travel in recent times, but right banks sought higher returns by investing in the speculative run-up in commercial or wrong, people still vote with their pocketbooks and their vehicles. They shop real estate in urban areas. This has left them weakened and less likely to lend to any and get health care and government services in regional centers because of the but their most creditworthy customers. perceived lower costs and wider selection. More ubiquitous broadband and leaders fedgazette: Does population size matter to the livability or survivability of a who champion “buy local” efforts can help bring back key services and businesses. small town? If so, what is a critical mass? Finzel: I would add that farm consolidation and reduced diversity of farm out- Finzel: I believe viable small towns can come in all sizes. More important than puts — some resulting from economies of scale and others from farm policy — numbers of residents is the role the small town serves in the region. Viable small have contributed greatly to the population loss. Also, high returns earned by highly towns must be gathering places. It may be that people gather because the town specialized labor — in medicine, law and finance — have contributed to shortages provides essential services — financial, legal, medical, recreational, retail. In such of the general practitioners so essential to small-town sustainability. instances, what is most important is the population these services can be expected fedgazette: Many small towns have been losing population for decades. Econo- to provide for. mists generally argue that migratory trends are market signals — households are However, small towns need not be only about service provision. A small town making efficient decisions based on their perceived best interests. Should govern- may be viable if it is the central gathering place, [such as] for a local religious com- ment support or subsidize small towns in hopes that they become more attractive? munity or a local school. Of course, this implies that small-town residents depend If yes, what’s the most efficient way of doing so? upon larger population centers to fill in the gaps in needed services, but all commu- Leonard: This is the eternal question since people moved to urban areas from nities rely upon others to some degree. Is St. Cloud not viable because it lacks the farms and small towns as industrialization took hold in the 19th century. Where is Twins? Is a small town not viable because it lacks a mall? I don’t think so. opportunity? Opportunity depends on personal choice, need and situation. So my Engstrom: I agree with Bart that there are success stories in all sizes of cities. answer to the subsidy question is “it depends.” Rationally, some towns are strategi- There are 854 cities in Minnesota; about 100 of them have populations less than cally more important to support with subsidies — gateways to resources that we all 100, and about 500 have populations less than 1,000. Minnesota lays claim to Ten- depend on, for example. Some towns given access to subsidies for broadband, for ney, the smallest city in the nation with a population of six — or five or four or example, become more attractive to both lone eagles and businesses that depend on

13 grassroots editor • spring 2011 high-speed access to the world. fill vacant positions, cut positions and also cut back or limit capital improvements It’s important to maintain a healthy rural-urban balance for a number of reasons. and expenditures. There is at least one city in Minnesota that has pledged its LGA The best example of efficiently doing that, of everyone pitching in a little to sup- payment to payment of bonds that were used to improve its wastewater system. port one another, was the rural electrification and telephone subsidies beginning in Nonpayment of LGA could cause default on the bond payments. the 1930s and continuing today. That catalyst opened the doors to innovation and Leonard: Local leadership is a necessity for long-term survivability, but ex- revitalized the countryside. ternal resources and external leadership matter a great deal. These days, we face a Yet, small towns have disappeared since forever. New ones have been built in crisis in confidence in ourselves. We justify decreasing state aid as a way to hunker different places as opportunities evolve. It may seem easier to have a sweeping down until the storm passes. But hunkering down doesn’t work when we are going one-size-fits-all policy in subsidies — to do it or not — but case-by-case decisions through dramatic, long-term transformations that require proactive leadership and on the different forms of support available ensure better stewardship of shared re- resource investments coordinated across local, state and national levels. sources. We made a pledge when this nation was founded out of 13 colonies: e pluribus Finzel: I do not necessarily agree that the migration away from small towns is unum — “out of many, one.” In practice, at national and state levels, it means we entirely the result of market forces. Although small-town decline is partially the re- strive to contribute equitably to the commonwealth to ensure reliable and consistent sult of limited opportunities, farm programs added to population loss by supporting levels of basic services and infrastructure across our states and nation. This “com- a limited number of commodities and contributing to larger farms, fewer farmers monwealth” is the base upon which further community and economic development and less-viable small towns. Other structural issues, such as health insurance being can happen. far more expensive for small firms than for large firms, have also contributed to Finzel: A sudden loss of state aid, particularly if coupled with continuing tax out-migration. limits on local government, would be destructive for small cities. Even the most Regarding small-town support, providing assistance to the relatively small eco- enlightened local leadership couldn’t move quickly enough to overcome the blow. nomic entities that are the backbone of small towns — rural hospitals, micro enter- I agree with Jane. State aid is an expression of our collective desire to ensure prise, community banks, cooperatives, small farms benefiting from the local food that all have access to basic services and to not have areas of the state barren and movement — will be most successful. Regulatory reform and subsidies directed blighted. Larger units of government have greater capacity to smooth over the at very small firms in the federal health care reform bill should also enable small peaks and valleys of funding levels market economies naturally create and should firms — and small towns — to retain talented employees who might have migrated play that role. to larger firms with a better health insurance plan. fedgazette: There’s a lot of talk about better rural-urban connections. It could Engstrom: The main support needed is state assistance for basic necessities that be argued that the world has never been more socially and economically intercon- a city provides. All citizens in Minnesota deserve basic services related to health nected. So what’s the “connection” problem or gap that needs bridging? and safety at a fair price. If a community can retain good, basic services at reason- Leonard: Historically, we had stronger rural-urban connections because our re- ably competitive property tax rates, then it has a chance at competing for new hous- gion was very rural up until just after World War II. People who did move to the ing and business. This cannot be done without some sort of property tax equaliza- city still had strong ties back in the countryside. With increasing urban- and subur- tion program like the current Local Government Aid, which has been the target of banization, rural ties have weakened in succeeding generations. huge cuts over the last few years. Today, I’m amazed at how few people make an effort to visit parts of their state fedgazette: What loss is most critical to a community, and why? Put another that are different from where they live. We’ve had a tradition in Minnesota of “go- way, what elements are key to whether communities die, merely survive or thrive? ing up to the lake,” but that is usually a narrow corridor between a city and lake Engstrom: It’s hard to pinpoint what is the most crucial loss to a community as country that omits vast parts of very rural or very urban places. far as allowing a small city to remain viable. At some point, the combined losses I don’t agree that we as a world are as interconnected socially as you suggest. of places of worship and places to shop and gather, combined with the population The connections we have tend to be in distinct circles based on our own special decline, breaks a community spirit. So I guess I’m saying it is the community spirit interests. To thrive, we have to be more intentional about reaching beyond our own that is most critical to a community. Small cities with tiny populations can thrive or comfort levels and connect with people and places different from our own settings. fail based on the spirit and support of the residents. Finzel: As a professor in a small town, I find it remarkable to witness students Leonard: I agree, and I’ll add this: How young people are regarded by a com- with urban sensibilities truly connect with the realities of rural places. Some stu- munity is key. If enough people hold a mindset that young people don’t have a dents are empowered by the connection. Others go home. future in their small town and that belief is instilled from an early age, then the Students from urban areas take 24-hour shopping, a Walmart or Target, a cinema town is on a downward spiral. If kids are embraced, supported and encouraged to multiplex and a variety of dining opportunities for granted. Moreover, as their fam- be a part of the community’s present and future, then that community is investing ily ties to rural areas have lessened with each generation, their knowledge of small in its own future. places and their ability to imagine a life without urban amenities have diminished. Engstrom: Jane, those comments are right on the mark. After a time, urban students who stick it out find that those in small towns make fedgazette: There is a lot of angst regarding the loss of state aid and other support the most of their limited menu of options: friends cook for one another and create for rural areas. Is long-term survival tied more to internal capacity — local leader- their own entertainment; problems are solved by coming together, rather than mak- ship — or does external funding and other support play an outsized role? ing a phone call to a service provider; goods and services are provided by local sole Engstrom: If we are going to preserve small towns as a way of life, there is an proprietors, barter or not at all. Students learn that nothing can be taken for granted absolute need for some sort of property tax equalization to provide assistance to in a small community. Doing for oneself and one’s community is necessary. A sense communities in need. So the loss of state aid payments, such as Local Government of shared responsibility is cultivated. Aid, for small cities is a huge problem. Some communities have a very poor tax fedgazette: Step back for a big-picture view. Small towns are the historic roots base, and paying for services like police protection would require a much higher- of this country. Then came urbanization, suburbanization and now a lot of emphasis than-average tax levy [if LGA were cut]. Some small cities do not receive LGA on the competitiveness of regions and regional centers. Can you envision the pen- because their tax base or tax capacity is very high — like those in the lakes region dulum swinging to a point where rural areas and small towns are again a preferred, with high-end homes. market-driven place to live? In some cities, LGA payments are 30 to 50 percent of total available revenue. Finzel: Small towns that exist because they provide essential services are, I sus- When LGA is cut, as has happened the last few years, there is a limited choice for pect, unlikely to make a comeback because major services will continue to migrate city councils to make up the lost revenue. Most simply cannot raise taxes, and many to regional centers. But small towns that are built on a set of shared beliefs or aspira- cities are subject to state-imposed levy limits. The usual city response is to not tions, be it a desire for sustainable communities or the chance to fully engage in all

14 grassroots editor • spring 2011 aspects of a community, will be attractive in the future. This depends critically on may not be the same, but there will be some basic services, even if it’s a conve- leaders gathering residents together to articulate a shared vision. It will also depend nience store and maybe a place of worship. Some small towns will do better than on whether the town welcomes newcomers, creates opportunities for retirees to others, and those that have the good leadership to work toward developing their return and fosters a degree of promise in the future. own microeconomy will do very well. The advantages of small-town life — the cheap and abundant housing stock, the Leonard: The majority of people in this country do prefer to live in a small community’s role in child rearing, the relative security of knowing your neighbors, town if there are certain amenities nearby: recreation, health care, education, jobs the opportunities for self determination and self-expression — will continue to be or business opportunities, churches and social/civic groups. Broadband can cre- attractive to some. My thinking is that we are near bottom in terms of out-migration ate improved access to health care, education and some economic opportunities from small communities. anywhere. Small-town resurgence based on recreational amenities — lakes and Engstrom: There will always be people who desire the “small-town lifestyle.” mountains — has been evident for some time. I do not think we will get back to a point where small towns are the hubs of com- The aging of the baby boomers also represents an opportunity for small towns. merce in rural Minnesota simply because of the change in agricultural practices. We Many people do want to return to their small-town hometowns when they retire. will have large urban cities, suburbs and regional centers, and there will always be They have lots of experience, know-how and leadership skills to contribute to any small towns. For many, a small town is a lifestyle choice — for retirees returning place they settle. to their roots or families looking for a more affordable housing option, maybe with fedgazette: Thank you. a longer commute. I would agree with Bart that the out-migration from small towns may be subsid- Ronald Wirtz is editor of fedgazette, produced by the Federal Reserve Bank of Min- ing. What I can envision is small towns that exist as housing clusters; Main Street neapolis. He can be contacted at [email protected].

15 grassroots editor • spring 2011

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