Newspapers’ by Kenneth Starck

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.

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