The obituary art in Australia: time to bury the posthumous parallax
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(Published version)
Date
2002
Authors
Starck, N.
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Journal article
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Australian Journalism Review, 2002; 24(1):117-129
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Abstract
Australian newspapers have recently increased column space devoted to obituaries. Style and quality are erratic, however. Syndicated pieces from specialist writers in Britain and the United States appear alongside homespun obituaries submitted for publication by surviving family members or friends. There is an apparent unwillingness, on the part of Australian editors, to encourage the writing of material that offers an objective, critical appraisal of the dead. That reticence is at variance with emerging practice overseas, where there is fre- quently a concerted effort to "get nearer the character of the person ... to delve behind the curriculum vitae and by descrip- tion and anecdote convey what the lamented - or unlarnented - one was really like" (Bowman, 1997, p. 23). This article compares publication styles and policies, and examines (on the basis of the author's own experience) the challenges inherent in both the exercise and the teaching of the obituary art.
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Copyright 2002 Journalism Education Association