Multimedia Online Memorials Draw Mixed Reviews From Obit Editors

Fri Aug 4, 3:27 PM ET

Published: August 03, 2006 2:50 PM ET

NEW YORK Legacy.com, the online memorial company used by over 275 newspapers, recently announced the introduction free audio guestbook entries for their paid online obituaries. The service is in keeping with the complete multimedia experience that Legacy.com offers to family and friends of the deceased searching for ways to memorialize their loved ones through obituaries.

One of the more popular options is a standalone product called “Moving Tributes.” For $29, families and friends of the deceased can create a multimedia slideshow dedicated to their loved one; the tributes include music, photographs, text, and one-minute voice messages. The online addition is one that many have already taken advantage of, and it seems to herald the great democratization of obituaries. E&P spoke to obituary writers about Legacy.com and its continuing pursuit towards personalizing the online obituary.

Richard Peery, one of several obituary writers for The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, Ohio, noted that the Legacy.com features allow more space for obituaries that might otherwise never reach the printing press.

“We don’t have the space or opportunity to get all these stories in the paper that deserve to be there,” Peery told E&P. “[Legacy.com] gives the families a reason to get a good story in the paper and a chance to at least have something.”

But at the same time, Peery says, these Moving Tributes should not be confused with obituaries.

“It’s not actual obituary writing or journalism,” said Peery. “Families very often do not write the most interesting or important stories about someone’s life. They write their grief and personal memories or feelings which may be very intense for them, but may not have much meaning for strangers who didn’t know the person.”

John Bikus, the chief marketing officer for Legacy.com, completely agrees.

“Moving Tributes are not intended to replace obituaries,” Bikus told E&P. “Our intent is to enhance the user’s obituary experience.

“No one’s going to replace the obituary. We aim to supplement it.”

Carolyn Gilbert, the founder of the International Association of Obituarists and editor of ObitPage.com, wanted to reiterate the skill involved with obituary writing that may be lacking in these online tributes.

“We [as obituary writers] are very interested in the quality of the obituary, the questions that one would ask of the family to elicit the right kinds of information to make it a really meaningful thing. We probably err on the side of content and quality, and are not so interested in the communication aspect of it, as Legacy.com is.”

“I’m of two minds of it,” Gilbert admitted. “I do see it serves a certain element of the population.”

But, Gilbert added, that segment of the population is one that has the means and wherewithal to create these tributes. For those without Internet connections or Web savvy, the Moving Tributes may pose a bit harder of a challenge.

“It serves a segment of the community for sure,” Gilbert said, “but maybe the more sophisticated clientele.”

Bikus contends that in the age of the Internet, more and more people are able to upload their photos and feel comfortable working on the Web.

“The Internet may seem impersonal, but it really allows for more personal memorials,” Bikus said. He noted that before the Internet, people would only be able to commemorate their loved ones through funeral services. Now, people can leave their thoughts and memories online.

The unique online memorial site does not please everyone, however. Steve Miller of the New York Sun contends that sites like Legacy.com impede the research he conducts in order to find obituaries.

“From my point of view, they’re a pain in the butt,” said Miller.

Miller’s job as obituary editor of the New York Sun is already tough, since, as he puts it, the New York Times has the most interesting obituaries “nailed down” before the other New York newspapers can have at them. His process for finding information involves scrolling through approximately 20 newspapers a day in the hopes of finding interesting material. But now that the majority of major American newspaper websites have turned their obituary classifieds over to Legacy.com, Miller feels his job has become a lot harder.

“To me, Legacy.com is diminishing the possibility of finding information over the Internet through browsing obituaries. I don’t like the whole interface; if you don’t know the person’s name that you’re looking for, you have to click through the whole page. I want to see a whole string of stuff to scan real quickly to find the important information, and they don’t make that possible.”

“The products that we put are intended to enhance the experience,” Bikus said. Not only do they get a lot of positive feedback at Legacy.com, he says, but users find that their web interface is, in fact, quite easy to handle.

Though Legacy.com may not serve as a practical resource for obituary writers, Peery doesn’t feel threatened by the Moving Tributes section.

“It’s something that’s being presented for the family to find solace and closure,” he said. “If people have a real story to tell about their loved one, I don’t see them passing us up to get on Legacy.com.

“As long as papers don’t pick these things up and run these as stories, I’m okay with it.

--Sarah Weber (sweber@editorandpublisher.com) is a reporter for E&P.

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