Obituary
An obituary is a notice of the death of a person, usually published in a newspaper and usually including a short biography.
The obituary usually ends with the name of the subject's wife/husband and their children.
Because of the short time between the notification of a death and the next publication deadline, most newspapers have pre-written obituaries for famous people who are still alive. Updating the "obits" is hum-drum task usually given to junior reporters.
Obituaries are a notable feature of The Economist, which publishes precisely one full-page obituary per week, reflecting on the subject's life and influence on world history. Past subjects have ranged from Ray Charles to Uday Hussein.
While the United States obituaries are almost always reverent and respectful, in Britain it is far more permissible for the writer to attack or mock the subject.
Stories abound of obituaries accidentally published whilst the person concerned was still alive. One of the best known examples was Mark Twain, who responded "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated".
See also
