Obituaries and Such

By Cooper Jeremiah Ellis

5:31 We started off with the QuizStar Current Events quiz as we do every Monday, it was just as exciting the 8^th time around.

Professor's comment: Anyone interested in any sort of communications work now or in the future needs to know what's going on.

5:39 The class learns of the tragic tale of one Robert Paist and his glued gluteus, we are instructed to put out a press release. Students take up the role of the PR person for Bestmart, the store in which Mr. Paist became glued to his seat.

5:54 The exercise is finished, and students review an article on the process of obituary-writing, and a collection of funny obituaries to get folks in the mood

6:05 The class is introduced to Carole Douglis: she co-owns a herd of camels and is also a Global Communications Consultant. After the students introduced themselves, she stresses the importance of good features in the communications field. She spent 15 years around East Africa supporting charities and institutions of that sort with her writing abilities. This came in the form of features and children’s books.

Here are Carole’s points:

·      Look for the interesting, the unusual in your story that sets it apart.

·      Good feature writing is a skill sought after in most communications fields

6:30 We segue into obituary writing and the students discuss the ways in which life is celebrated through the medium. (That is, the medium of the obituary, not as in they acquired a spiritual Medium in order to speak to the dead.) The students discuss their printed obits and what makes them good.

6:42 The class is instructed that they will partner up and then write their partner’s obituary. They draw up a list of ten questions that they think would be good for their own obits, that they could ask that person.

7:30 The students then begin to work on those obituaries, which are due Friday.

Some good questions to ask a dying person:

·      A personal secret you’ve not yet revealed?

·      How would your friends/teachers/parents describe you?

·      What do you remember about your hometown?

Homework:

-Your obituary is due Friday, 5pm

-Read Chapter 9 “Writing for broadcast” and include three takeaways

Memorable Quotes:

·      “David was an avid smoothie enthusiast and this Monday he took his last sip from the smoothie of life, which probably tasted like mango.” -on good obituaries

·      “His regrets were few but include eating a rotisserie hot dog from a convenience store in the summer of 2002, not training his faithful dog to detect cancer, and that no video evidence exists of his prowess on the soccer field or in the bedroom” -on better obituaries