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36-457: Begun in 1969 by John Howell and Anthony Ritacco, as a vehicle to purchase the Warwick Beacon , the company was called Southern Rhode Island Publications until 1987. Howell took sole possession of the company in the 1980s, with Richard Fleischer coming on as the general manager. In May 2024, Howell sold the company to Joy E. Fox. In addition to its three weekly newspapers , Beacon publishes

72-407: A CD-ROM or Zip disk , or sent to the printing press (either located at the newspaper office or an off-site publication plant) by e-mail or FTP site. Often, the staff of a weekly newspaper is smaller, with employees having several duties. For instance, a news editor may also sell advertising, while reporters could also be photographers. The size of the news staff varies, depending on the size of

108-448: A municipality or other government body must designate a newspaper of record . The official newspaper is decided based on geographical area, and often more than one newspapers are given this designation. Official newspapers receive the government's public notices, and since they are considered advertising, it can be a source of revenue for newspapers. Weekly newspapers often have one or more advertising sales representatives whose job it

144-537: A "sleepy corner of journalism", publications in the Internet age have invested more resources in preparing advance obituaries for rapid publication online, in order to meet widespread public interest; obituaries can attract millions of readers online within days of their subjects' deaths. The New York Times maintains a "deep reservoir" of advance obituaries, estimated to stand at roughly 1,850 as of 2021 . The paper often interviews notables specifically for their obituaries,

180-924: A general rule, when lives are long enough, accomplished enough and complex enough that we would just as soon not get caught short writing them on deadline, advances are assigned". Consequently, many public figures who die unexpectedly or prematurely will have no obituary available at a given publication, and journalists will be left to research and write lengthy articles on short notice. However, Farhi noted that advance obituaries of younger people will occasionally be prepared if they are known to have health problems or "chaotic lives"; The Washington Post had an advance obituary for singer Amy Winehouse , whose struggles with substance abuse were widely chronicled before her death at age 27. In another case, Nigel Farndale , an obituaries editor for The Times , said that in April 2020, when news broke that then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

216-431: A paper and omits most biographical details and may be a legally required public notice under some circumstances. The other type, a paid memorial advertisement , is usually written by family members or friends, perhaps with assistance from a funeral home . Both types of paid advertisements are usually run as classified advertisements. The word also applies to the entire program and the part of that program describing

252-571: A per-story rate. Many weekly newspapers started as family-owned businesses, covering one or two communities and handling all editorial and business functions. The Tribune Newspaper in Humble, Texas is one example. Typically all business functions, along with the editor-in-chief would be family members, while non family members would assume reporting positions. Another example is the Campbell County Observer published in N.E. Wyoming. The owner

288-513: A practice begun by Alden Whitman in 1966. As of 2021 , The Washington Post has about 900 advance obituaries on file, and entertainment publication The Hollywood Reporter has prepared 800 advances for notable figures in the film and television industry. An advance obituary is usually not written until the subject has reached old age, as the earlier a profile is written, the more additions and revisions it will likely require. Former New York Times obituary writer Margalit Fox wrote that "as

324-660: A premature death notice or obituary as a malicious hoax, perhaps to gain revenge on the "deceased". To that end, nearly all newspapers now have policies requiring that death notices come from a reliable source (such as a funeral home ), though even this has not stopped some pranksters such as Alan Abel . Many news organizations maintain prewritten (or preedited video) obituaries on file for notable individuals who are still living, in order to promptly publish detailed, authoritative, and lengthy obituaries upon their deaths. These are also known as "advance" obituaries. The Los Angeles Times ' obituary of Elizabeth Taylor , for example,

360-476: A program such as Adobe Photoshop . After the copy and advertisements have been placed on the page, the editor will print out a proof and make any changes, if necessary. Sometimes, they will consult with reporters on such things as double-checking facts, proofreading headlines and other copy, or writing cut-lines for photographs. Once everyone is satisfied, a final proof is printed out and prepared for publication. The pages can be placed on dummy sheets, burned to

396-623: A publisher overseeing several newspapers, with a specific editor for each newspaper. Generally speaking, the staff of corporate-owned chain weeklies do not have deep connections into the communities and do not prioritize accountability for local governments. The switch from locally owned weekly newspapers to corporate chains, which is often driven by the loss of advertising revenue , is associated with increases in taxes, reduced involvement by citizens in local government , fewer citizens voting in elections, more wasteful spending, and even higher levels of corruption . At Christmas Day, depending on

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432-451: A sports reporter takes great ownership in a specific team and writes stories containing detailed accounts of games. Several photographs of the games may accompany the story. Other stories preview games, usually between traditional rivals, to build interest. Family news pages include announcements of births, engagements, weddings, landmark birthdays and anniversaries, and obituaries . In the past, correspondents often submitted stories along

468-466: A weekly newspaper receives most of its revenue from display advertising and classified advertising . Most weekly newspapers are laid out one or more days before the publication date. Sometimes, the layout of pages is staggered, to allow for multiple deadlines. Like larger newspapers, most weekly newspapers these days are paginated (or laid out) using computer software, using programs such as Adobe PageMaker , Adobe InDesign or Quark Xpress . Layout

504-452: Is a register or list of records of the deaths of people related to a particular organization, group or field, which may only contain the sparsest details, or small obituaries. Historical necrologies can be important sources of information. Two types of paid advertisements are related to obituaries. One, known as a death notice , usually appears in the Births, Marriages and Deaths (BMD) section of

540-562: Is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles . Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. According to Nigel Farndale , the Obituaries Editor of The Times , obituaries ought to be "balanced accounts" written in a "deadpan" style, and should not read like a hagiography . In local newspapers, an obituary may be published for any local resident upon death. A necrology

576-435: Is published once every two weeks. Weekly newspapers tend to have smaller circulations than daily newspapers, and often cover smaller territories, such as one or more smaller towns, a rural county, or a few neighborhoods in a large city. Frequently, weeklies cover local news and engage in community journalism . Most weekly newspapers follow a similar format as daily newspapers (i.e., news, sports, obituaries , etc.). However,

612-400: Is the appearance of the page and includes photographs (along with cutlines, or captions identifying the photograph's content and people), copy (the text and its typefont), headlines and white space. At many newspapers, photographers, reporters and editors use digital cameras to take photographs and download selected photographs using a card reader. The photographs are cropped and edited using

648-403: Is the coordinating office for the group; other members are Breeze Publications , East Bay Newspapers , Hathaway Publishing and Southern Rhode Island Newspapers . Weekly newspaper A weekly newspaper is a general-news or current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet , magazine , and digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspaper

684-522: Is the publisher who also performs advertising sales, writing, distribution, books, and other duties that may be required. His wife, Candice, is an advertising saleswoman, his nine-year-old and four-year-old children are the insert stuffers, and they all are door-to-door subscription salespeople. As newspapers became more expensive to operate and family members declined to join the business, many weekly newspapers were purchased by larger chains of weeklies. Some family-owned newspapers are operated as chains, with

720-422: Is to sell display advertisements. Most advertisements are from local businesses (although some larger companies from outside the coverage area may advertise). Other advertisements are called classifieds , which are placed by people who want to buy or sell something (such as a car or real estate), employers who have job openings, or property owners who have rental property available. Along with paid subscriptions,

756-668: The Aviso started in January 1609 in Wolfenbüttel . Many weekly newspapers in North America follow a similar format: News coverage usually focuses on local events such as car accidents or house fires, plus local government meetings, such as city councils or school boards, and police blotters. A weekly newspaper often covers sports teams from one or more area schools (mostly high schools ), communities, or professional teams if any exist. Often,

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792-645: The Penny$ aver shopper in Cranston and Warwick; ChamberWorks , a business publication; and PrimeTime , a seniors-oriented monthly magazine distributed statewide. In 2018, Beacon purchased the weekly shopper publication, the Coventry Reminder. In addition to the former Cranston Today , the company has launched several other complementary products. Beacon founded the Coventry Townsman and Seekonk Sentinel in

828-528: The funeral home , often resulting in embarrassment for everyone involved. In November 2020, Radio France Internationale accidentally published about 100 prewritten obituaries for celebrities such as Queen Elizabeth II and Clint Eastwood . The premature publication was blamed on a transition to a new content management system . Irish author Brendan Behan said, "there is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary." In this regard, some people seek to have an unsuspecting newspaper editor publish

864-648: The community). Others may be recent college graduates early in their career, and are trying to gain experience and/or clips. Many newspapers have at least one news clerk or editorial assistant who is responsible for typing family news and obituaries , as well as news releases announcing upcoming events. A circulation manager keeps track of subscribers (this can range from only a couple hundred to tens of thousands of subscribers), and may also be in charge of classified advertising . As well as full-time staff reporters and photographers, many weekly newspapers also employ correspondents (sometimes called stringers), often paid on

900-407: The day of the week that Christmas Day is on, weekly newspapers would change the day in many countries. For example, Sunday newspapers are moved to Christmas Eve or Saturday when Christmas Day is on Sunday, and other weekly newspapers are expected to change their day at Christmas to save outlets and businesses from opening on Christmas Day by law. Obituary An obituary ( obit for short)

936-418: The early 1970s, later selling them to other owners; and Newport Today (now called Newport This Week ). Beacon's papers compete with The Providence Journal in the state's capital city, which borders Johnston and Cranston. All three Beacon newspapers are members of Rhode Island Newspaper Group, an advertising sales consortium that consists of five weekly newspaper publishers in suburban Providence. Beacon

972-425: The editor , written by readers on a specific topic. The public-record section usually includes summaries of police-incident reports, fire-department calls and court dispositions (or, the outcome of a criminal proceeding). Many newspapers also publish a list of building permits that have been issued in its circulation area. Public notices typically fall into one of two categories: Laws in many US states dictate that

1008-403: The family business operating weekly newspapers in multiple towns. The chain newspapers can be either regional or national chains. Sometimes all advertising functions are combined, with a weekly newspaper containing both ads for local businesses and for businesses in the chains area. This larger circulation can assist in bringing in national advertising to weeklies. Weeklies in chains may also have

1044-445: The life of the deceased. It is given to those who attend their service. The verso page heading may be Obituary or Reflections , the recto heading is usually Order of Service . A premature obituary is a false reporting of the death of a person who is still alive. It may occur due to unexpected survival of someone who was close to death. Other reasons for such publication might be miscommunication between newspapers, family members, and

1080-545: The lines of "Mr. and Mrs. John Jones had company from out-of-town last week", although these types of stories – commonly called "Neighborhood News" or some similar name – are largely a thing of the past. Larger weeklies, especially those that are part of chains, also offer lifestyle features, reviews of local theater and arts, restaurant reviews and a food section that may concentrate on local recipes. Like daily newspapers, weekly newspapers often have an editorial page. Editorial pages also include letters to

1116-643: The newspaper and its circulation area. Some papers have a staff of several reporters , with each reporter having a specific beat (much like a daily newspaper, with beats including schools, local government, business, police, etc.). Many smaller newspapers, however, may have as few as one reporter to cover the entire circulation area, meaning they are responsible for the entire content of the newspaper (e.g., government, business, schools, crime, features, etc.). The experience of weekly newspaper reporters varies. Some may have years of experience (either they are satisfied where they are employed, and/or may be well-established in

Beacon Communications (publisher) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-1188: The primary focus is on news within a coverage area. The publication dates of weekly newspapers in North America vary, but often they come out in the middle of the week (Wednesday or Thursday). However, in the United Kingdom where they come out on Sundays, the weeklies which are called Sunday newspapers , are often national in scope and have substantial circulations (20 to 50% higher on average than their daily sister publications). Other types of news publications come out weekly on newsprint but are not considered general newspapers. These cover specific topics, such as sports (e.g., The Sporting News ) or business (e.g., Barron's ), and have larger circulations and cover much larger geographic-coverage areas. Alternatively, other news publications come out weekly on magazine-style print but are still considered general newspapers (e.g. The Economist ). The first weekly newspapers were Relation and weekly newspaper Aviso , which were published at beginning of 17th century. The Relation started around 1605 in Straßburg by Johann Carolus and

1188-467: The years than any piece we've ever run". Work on it began in 1959, and it went through many subsequent iterations. Well into the 21st century, the visual layout for the obituary was substantially modified to match changes in the paper's page size, and a presentation for its digital edition cycled through different slideshow and video formats to match advances in Internet download speeds. The newspaper began drafting an obituary for Queen Elizabeth II when she

1224-515: Was in an intensive care unit with COVID-19 during the pandemic , he was under considerable pressure to quickly prepare an obituary that could be immediately published if Johnson died from the disease. Still, for particularly major figures, advance obituaries may be drafted early in their lives and revised constantly throughout the following years or decades. Bill McDonald , obituaries editor of The New York Times , estimated in 2016 that Fidel Castro 's obituary "cost us more man/woman hours over

1260-500: Was still heir apparent , and it was rewritten in its entirety multiple times until her death in 2022. Obituaries are a notable feature of The Economist , which publishes one full-page obituary per week, reflecting on the subject's life and influence on world history. Past subjects have ranged from Ray Charles to Uday Hussein to George Floyd . The Times and the Daily Telegraph publish anthologies of obituaries under

1296-513: Was written in 1999 after three months of research, then often updated before the actress' 2011 death. Quite often the prewritten obituary's subject outlives its author. One example is The New York Times ' obituary of Taylor, written by the newspaper's theater critic Mel Gussow , who died in 2005. The 2023 obituary of Henry Kissinger featured reporting by Michael T. Kaufman , who died almost 14 years earlier in 2010. Writing in 2021, Paul Farhi of The Washington Post observed that while once

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