NYT obituaries writer on ‘getting it right’

Sam Roberts has been covering the lives – and deaths – of influential people as an obituaries writer at The New York Times. In his new book, “Are They Dead Yet?: The Art Of The Obit,” Roberts argues that writing a good obituary rarely involves making it about death.

“We [at The New York Times] try to look at someone’s full life, the arc of their life, the trajectory of their life,” Roberts told Geoff Bennett.  “Ann Wroe, the obituary editor of The Economist, talks about looking into the person’s soul, their essence, how they view the world rather than necessarily how we view them.”

Roberts adds that one of the “tough calls” of obituary writing comes “when someone has committed a misdeed.”

“How does that fit into the trajectory, the arc of their entire lives, and where do you put that in their obituary?” Roberts said.

Roberts joined Geoff Bennett for the latest episode of PBS News’ podcast, Settle In, to discuss his new book and more.

For the full episode, click the link in our bio.

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