What Craigslist did to classified ads is like what Facebook is doing to newspaper obituaries.
Not many years ago, newspapers realized that space devoted to free obituaries could become a revenue source from survivors who believed the lives of their deceased loved ones deserved special treatment.
Many local newspapers adopted policies close to that of The Indianapolis Star. The Star will print a basic obituary notice – the deceased's name, age, city of residence and facts about visitation and services – for free. More detailed, custom obituaries are treated like ads. The Star works with funeral homes, who include the obituaries in the funeral charges. Costs run into hundreds of dollars.
Today, newspapers earn good money running long obituaries. Lots of folks my age turn to the obituary page – printed or online – every morning to learn if someone they knew passed away.
That will change.
Of course, many obituaries now are posted on funeral home websites, which can substitute for newspaper publication and provide the opportunity for friends to post their memories.
In recent months, I learned of some deaths important to me on Facebook. Using Facebook to inform a network of friends about someone's death makes perfect sense. Those are the persons who care. Facebook also will memorialize a deceased member's Facebook page, removing private information but leaving the member's wall open.
Social media has not become so pervasive that public figures and those whose circles of acquaintances are not entirely digital will dispense with newspaper obituaries. Considering the cost of telling the story a deceased deserves in a newspaper, however, that day is coming.
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