Events occurring at Assassination Time

[Rob Wick]

The first newspaper job I ever had was with a weekly, and we printed on Wednesday. Every weekly I am familiar with prints on a Wednesday. I once asked an old editor why that was. The best he could tell me was "because." Yeah, he wasn't a very good editor.

And as far as pre-written obituaries are concerned, most newspapers didn't do those until newspapers switched from linotype to offset printing. The main reason is because to set a linotype page requires a good deal of time, and a large obituary (over several column inches) would be impractical. Plus, in the old days time wasn't of the essence. When papers switched to offset printing, all an editor had to do was to update bits of information on a pre-written file and send it to the composing room. Most of the media outlets who do pre-written obits, or "advancers" as they are known in the business, are the New York Times or Washington Post or television media like CNN or the other major networks. Often, the media outlet will interview the person being written about (alive, of course). Here's a fun fact. The man who wrote Gerald Ford's obituary (not sure for which newspaper) actually died 11 months before Ford.

I think everyone here is right. Just coincidence.

Best
Rob