INDUSTRY INSIGHT
FUNERAL SERVICES
The Death of the
Printed Obituary.
F
or over the last 100 years the printed obituary has been a
staple in letting the general public know that someone has
died. The obituary comes in many forms and serves many
purposes. Some notices are factual and provide the who,
what, where and when for funeral services. Other obituaries are
long stories that list a person’s accomplishments and establish the
deceased’s lasting status within society.
It is important to understand there are two types of death
notifications. Typically an obituary in our local papers has been a free
news story. A reporter writes about someone of interesting status that
has passed. This can focus on something the person may have done
in their life and list the many accomplishments they have attained.
A well-penned obituary can intrigue the reader. This is different than
a death notice. A death notice is a paid advertisement that is placed
in a classified section of a paper. It is typically written by the funeral
home staff with help and approval from the family. The newspapers
have traditionally charged a linage fee for the notice to be printed.
No law states you must place a death notice or have an obituary
in the newspaper. This is a misconception that a lot of people feel
must happen.
Over the years we have seen a
change in the way newspapers
have printed obituaries and
death notices. With the advent
of the internet, the newspaper
industry has been in a slow
decline. It has been attempting to
preserve the death notice revenue
stream through different outlets.
Most papers have partnered with
Legacy.com to archive the notice
and to provide an online presence.
This was a great start but over time
Legacy has changed and now charges
families for permeant features like reading the
condolences left. For example, the condolences
left on my grandmother’s online guest book
would cost a minimum of $29.99 to unlock
for one year. On average a death notice in the
locally printed paper start at around $200 per
SPONSORED CONTENT
day to publish and online is $150. Often costing more for additional
information or adding pictures. Compounding this problem is the
papers are only printed three days a week. So if you pass on a Monday
and your funeral is on Thursday there will not be a printed paper. I
predict soon the print edition will not exist in our area. I know this is
a hard pill to sallow for many avid lovers of the written and printed
paper, but it is an inevitable fate.
At our funeral home, about 40% of the families we serve are now
opting to not place a notice in the paper or their online version. They
are just not seeing the value in it. Instead, they are using the funeral
home website to inform and guide people. The options are far greater
for families to include condolences, post pictures and slide shows for
the deceased. It allows online crowdfunding, memorial contributions,
and memory sharing. The site also allows for social media sharing to
help get the word out on the passing of someone you loved. All at no
additional cost.
The downside of the spiraling newspaper is losing that one central
point to find or review obituaries. The paper served the purpose of
being that clearinghouse for death notifications to the region. It’s
hard to visit the many funeral home sites in Pittsburgh to find an
obituary Thankfully we are excited to partner with a company called
eObits.com to bring area obituaries to the Pittsburgh Region. eObits
for Pittsburgh over time will be the one place the public can find
obituaries. You can look each day to find who has passed, just like
in the paper. Once you have found the person, one
simple click will take you to their obituary page on the
funeral home website that is serving the family. From
there you can find out when services are being held,
leave condolences and share memories. By visiting
pittsburgh.eobits.com you can watch this service grow
and learn more. We are excited to help sponsor and
bring this service to the community and look forward
to its growth.
If you have questions about us or our
services, please feel free to call or find us
on Facebook. You can also learn more
about our family and services by visiting:
www.sperlingfuneral.com
Sperling Funeral Home, Inc.
700 Blazier Dr. • Wexford, PA 15090
Jarett D. Sperling, Supervisor
724.933.9200
NORTH ALLEGHENY
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SPRING 2020
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