One of the biggest dilemmas in the journalism and broadcasting industries is how to report deaths, especially those of notable figures. In his 2011 book Those Guys Have All the Fun: The Inside Story of ESPN, author James Andrew Miller talked about how “The Worldwide Leader in Sports” treated the sensitive topic when it came to athletes who passed away…
“Beginning in 2000, under Vince Doria’s supervision, many obituaries and biographical packages were assembled in advance, just as major newspapers had routinely done for a long time. Material was gathered and stored so that, when the bell tolled for large-looming iconic figures like Muhammad Ali, George Steinbrenner, or John Wooden, there’d be less frantic scurrying to produce a proper tribute.”Miller points out the exception in the process of what to do during sudden deaths, using Dale Earnhardt’s fatal crash in the 2001 Daytona 500 as an example. This past weekend, there were multiple athletes whose lives came to an unexpected end. Oscar Taveras, who made his Major League Baseball debut in 2014 with the Cardinals, and was considered a top prospect, died Sunday in his native Dominican Republic in a car crash. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said it felt like a “bad dream” when he heard the news, as the outfielder showed promise this season, batting .239 and hitting a home run on his major-league debut. Taveras was 22.
South African soccer fans are mourning the death of national team captain Senzo Meyiwa, who was shot during an altercation on Sunday. The incident has led to public statements of condolence from South African President Jacob Zuma and FIFA President Sepp Blatter, and many players, such as fellow Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Darren Keet, have expressed anger about the shooting and general violence in the country:
College basketball coaches and players, particularly those in the Midwest, are expressing sympathy for the family of Dan Peters, who lost his battle with cancer on Monday. Peters was a former head coach at Youngstown State and Walsh, and is also known for being an assistant to Bob Huggins at Cincinnati, then under Thad Matta at Ohio State; most recently, he was the director of basketball operations at Akron. Peters’s battle spawned the popular Twitter hashtag #4PetesSake, and many teams wore patches last season in his honor.
Reporting deaths is one of the toughest jobs of the media industry, regardless of the circumstances. If you’d like to share your process for telling such stories, leave a comment below!
UPDATED (11/30/14): The last week of November has been a troubling one for some fans. After being struck in the neck by a ball during a first-class match November 25, Australian international cricketer Phillip Hughes succumbed to his injury two days later. The first Test between India and Australia, originally scheduled to start December 4, has been postponed to a later date. Also, on November 30, Ohio State defensive lineman Kosta Karageorge was found dead in Columbus after missing for several days; police have ruled the cause of death as a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Karageorge was a senior on the 2014 Buckeye squad, and would’ve been honored at the Michigan game as part of the “Senior Day” festivities.
Matt Digby 