The NEWS to begin charging for obituaries

The climate of print journalism continues to evolve with the advent of the Internet. While weekly papers have fared better than dailies, finding ways to increase revenues and cut costs has been paramount at Stanwood/Camano NEWS.

In that spirit, the NEWS, for the first time in 110 years of its existence, will begin implementing fees for obituaries starting with the May 26 edition.

"I've been old-fashioned about it, since obituaries are news," said NEWS publisher Dave Pinkham. "Unfortunately, the time has come to keep up with the times and begin charging."

The fee schedule for obituaries has been established at $10.90 per column inch, with the first four inches free. A photo carries no extra fee, but does count as billed inches. Short death announcements the week prior to the full obituary are free of charge.

To link an obituary to an online guest book, referred to as a Legacy posting, there will be an additional $11.50 charge. As always, the NEWS reserves the right to edit submitted obituaries prior to publication.