These are blog posts that relate to my “Revenue Roundup” discussion at the Online News Association today:
A possible new business model for obituaries
Jobless journalists could find a business model in obituaries
‘A Death Notice for Obituaries?’ Or an opportunity for entrepreneurs?
Obituaries: A chance to tell a loved one’s story
Personal storytelling sometimes overlaps with journalism
The Buttry Diary 
One of the most disturbing consequences of the paid obit movement is how it discriminates against low income and minority families who cannot afford to pay for an obit that once was free. As a result, readers seeking news about people in their community who have died are only reading about people who could afford the obit. Wide sections of the Washington, D.C. area are not represented in the daily paid obits that I read in The Post. Same in Kansas City. Instead, families have to rely on word of mouth or social media to notify people of services. Attendance at services is affected. These same newspapers who are now charging often rail against discrimination in editorials and report stories critical of institutions and individuals who practice exclusion. Yet they have adopted this discriminatory business practice of charging for obits.
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Excellent points, Steve. My business plan when I was thinking of pitching this as a business included plans for some of the proceeds from commissioned obits and life stories to go into a fund to pay for commissioned obituaries for those who can’t afford them.
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