About Us

October 22nd, 2009 Leave a comment Go to comments

Hello and welcome to Obit Research!

From September through December, it is the task of the Medill School of Journalism’s Fall 2009 Interactive Innovation Project to research “the art of the obituary” — you can read about our findings here.

Some of the questions we will ask and answer:

What is the history of obituaries in the United States? Who writes them? Who reads them beyond those people who have lost a loved one? Is there a greater want or need for longer, feature style stories commemorating the dead? Is there a difference between American obituaries and those of other countries? Can obituaries of ordinary people be made interesting to an audience both near and far?

Thanks for visiting!

  1. Cory Franklin
    December 1st, 2009 at 08:39 | #1

    Working with some people on an obit radio program, in the same mode as one done on BBC 4.
    Story of three to six people’s lives – who have recently died.
    Several different formats possible, one person, two people (a la Car Talk), one person with many reporters doing phone interviews with people connected to subject.
    Any interest at NU?
    (project working out of Wilmette, IL)

  1. November 30th, 2009 at 07:03 | #1