O'bits.

“An obituary is a news story,” says our book. “Too many obituaries read as if they were written by a computer-program—efficient but lifeless.”
I completely agree with both of those statements. Coming from personal experience, when I read my grandmother’s obituary in the paper I was a little disturbed by it. My grandmother was very well-known and loved in her community and the obituary only had small general statements about her. It did not include any achievements, or memberships, or community service… nothing of what my grandmother was about was included in there.
I feel obituaries need to be full of life. That they need to tell what the person was all about. And I think it is the reporter’s job to find these characteristics and do a fair amount of research to get an accurate account of the lost-life.
The book says that most obituaries or “stories” are not written well because most of the time the reporter is afraid to do the reporting. I do believe this is true, although I don’t know why. I know it is a tough time for the family, but if a report approached me and asked me about my grandmother, I would have been more than happy to brag about all of her accomplishments and her life.
I think reporters need to feel empathy/sympathy in that situation, but also remember that they are still a reporter and need to get the news out in the most accurate way.