Funeral coverage

Nice post, jfs.

 

This is a tragedy, and like so many articles about funeral coverage, it is normally done in poor taste and this one is no exception.

Huntsie, there are reports in Nova Scotia that one of the deceased is from Halifax. Is that true?

 

The person who wrote this was a "senior reporter?" Holy shit, bust him/her down to freshman.

 

I remember reading about this accident but this piece, is well, just beyond awful. Trite. Banal.

"Vale of tears"?

"Old chestnut"?.

How does this crap get by an editor?

 

It's bad, but I hesitate to clobber someone for what they wrote about the funeral of four 16-year-old kids.

People do become genuinely overwhelmed, even tough, professional hacks.

 

They shouldn't have been writing about it in the first place. Want to cover Kennedy's funeral? Fine. But to cover a funeral for four kids whose parents I'm sure couldn't give a shit about whether it's in the paper? Hackery of the highest order.

 

Zeke,

Huntsie said it was written by a "senior reporter".

You could forgive kid for writing like this but a SENIOR reporter?

 

How many funerals do you suppose he's had to cover in his years as a senior reporter? I'm honestly asking.



I tend to agree with Doc: I'm not sure you assign a story here, or, if you do, you make it nuts and bolts.

 

Covering a funeral of four 16-year-olds who died like this is absolutely essential.

 

Zeke, I'm not disagreeing with you or Doc but "senior" denotes some sort of professional status.

A nuts and bolts story would have been more appropriate because this is just embarrassingly bad.

 

Completely agreed.

 

I think there is something to "writing to an audience." The story veered in tone from news to an editorial about halfway in. Without being in the community I can only surmise that the reporter was attempting to comfort the afflicted with his words. I would have run it as a column.
Didn't realize Rick Reilly was moonlighting up in Moncton.