OK, be honest,who had Heath Ledger in the Celebrity Death Pool?
Not me, not you, and surely not the obituary writers, I'll bet.
Oh sure there's an obit already penned for Britney Spears, the AP recently revealed. Not too surprising, even at age 26, huh? And surely there have been obits in the can for years on, say, George H. Bush, Keith Richards, and Dick Clark (He IS still alive, right?).
Yep, it's simply sound journalistic policy to be prepared for such notable deaths. (What, you think newspapers and media outlets scramble at the last minute to pull those off?)
But still, Heath Ledger? Geez, no one saw that one coming.
Personally, my money has been on...
...Fidel Castro. But I have selfish reasons - I already wrote a column on his death and a local connection he had to a region native. In fact, I wrote it more than a year ago when his health took a serious nosedive. But look at him go. And go. And go.
Still, this got me thinking about local pols, celebs, officials, and big-wigs who also may have pre-written obits in the can, just waiting for them to kick the bucket.
Do you think local media honchos have a short list already in the works?
More telling, do you think there are region pols, notables, or big-wigs reading this right now who think so highly of themselves that they should be on that Death Ledger?
If so, who?
Jerry Davich is the metro columnist for the Post-Tribune Newspaper. Since 1995, he’s written thousands of columns and stories with one goal in mind – to create a dialogue with readers, not a monologue. He hopes this blog expands his goal into cyberspace.
My list of local politicians who need pre-written obits;
1. Robert Pastrick
2. Rudy Clay
3. Scott King (Where is he now?)
4. Pete Visclosky (After President Bush vowed in his State of the
Union address to eliminate funding for earmarks, Pete won't
have
anything to do, anyway).
5. All the Lake County councilmen who voted for the local income
tax.
6. State reps Chet Dobis and Ed Soliday for their support of the
South Shore extension.
It is truly unfortunate that a sick idea such as what you have suggested is allowed to pass for "journalism". You obviously don't believe in the truism that "you get what you give".
Shame on you people! SHAME ON YOU. Be careful, when you write other people's because you might be writting your own.
Being new to The Region several years ago, I saw the Marina and figured he was dead already. I guess adding "Memorial" makes more sense than having to rename it and make all new signs.
Why is it this paper is always hounding Rudy Clay? The man is at least trying to bring change and strengthen Gary.
He did not pull the presses out of the 1300 Broadway location. He did not close the news rooms to only reopen it in an expensive crappy strip mall. The Post Tribune did that!
Rudy Clay is trying to turn around all the actions of those people and companies who have helped make our city what it is today. His actions are bright and I support him, so should you and your paper. To suggest that writing an obit for our Mayor is not acceptable. Why not ask for one from US Steel, the Post-Tribune, the Gary Bus Company, the State of Indiana. It is not going to happen. I think you need to send an apology for this horrible piece of biased journalism.
hmmmmmm this is a sad use of the Newspaper and a blog... You seem a bit offbeat for sure here. hmmmm
you might just be OVER the edge... to even consider the passing of folks before their time... things can change and I always HOPE for the best. The day of a death is time enough to reflect. AND I hope you were not suggesting they need to go now.
Some of their "ideas" and leadership thoughts might be good if they died, IF that is where you were going in your over the edge thought.
Catch ya later..
Jerry, I know of a local tavern that actually has a celebrity death pool. You write down in a square who the next celebrity to pass will be and when someone on the board goes, whoever chose them wins the money in the pot and you all start over again. Sounds like you might like to try it.