‘I am not frightened of dying. Any time will do: I don’t mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There’s no reason for it ― you’ve got to go sometime.’
When you do, people will want to know, but delivering the news is unlikely to be easy. The role may fall to any one of a large number of people.
It may even fall to the pro audio press…
It seems that pro audio has suffered a particular succession of losses this year. And it has seemed appropriate to carry the news on Fast-and-Wide.
Among others, we said goodbye to Bruce Jackson in February, then Sidney Harman in April, Rob Lingfield in June, George Lascelles (first APRS president) in July and most recently, Moray McMillin in September. If it was saddening to read, it was painful to post…
Those familiar words from Abbey Road Studios’ Irish doorman Gerry O’Driscoll put a matter-of-fact spin on one of the most profound and emotive aspects of existence, and have been heard far and wide through the part they play in Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. But if dying is straightforward, dealing with someone’s death is not.
And neither is reporting it.
In keeping with the majority of pro audio journalists, my background is in music and audio rather than in a 'proper job' like publishing. Common sense and on-the-job training cover most bases, and a responsible publisher will add in some courses on the legalities. But nowhere are we taught how we should handle deaths or obituaries.
Passing thoughts
In the best tradition of dealing with bereavement, I talked to some people about how we should handle this. I wanted to know what they thought about the part played by the press in reporting colleagues’ passing. How much is duty and how much is exploitation? I got some good answers.
‘I guess my thoughts are two-fold,’ said David Claringbold, General Manager of Theatre & Events at the Sydney Opera House, and a close friend of Bruce Jackson. ‘Our industry is new; the people who built it and made it what it is today are still relatively young or just beginning to pass. This means that our heritage and history is wrapped up in the life stories of these people. When we farewelled Bruce, it was a celebration of his life, but it was also vital that the pro audio community was united, not only to share his history but to validate the industry as a significant cultural and technological movement.
‘The innovations and standards that Bruce brought to our business are now accepted but in those early days he was a true pioneer – as much as the Wright Brothers, Ernest Shackleton and Captain Cook were. When Roy Clair spoke at Bruce’s farewell, it was a truly historic moment. Both were great men who toiled beyond reason to ensure artists and fans got the best sound they could.
‘I remembered being a young guy lugging systems for bands and learning how it all worked. One of my favourite terms was the mid-range section of a three-way called a “Roy bin”. I never asked why. But there I was, 25 years later, standing on the [Sydney Opera House] Concert Hall stage with that very Roy, farewelling Bruce Jackson.
‘Life is surreal and you never know where it will take you. Death is a part of life, and those who were footsoldiers and those who were the generals require celebration. We all walk in their footsteps.’
‘You may want to consider why it is that you seem to be writing more and more of these stories – we’re all getting older!’ EAW Marketing Director, John Speck, advised.
‘Large-scale sound reinforcement grew during our adult lifetimes, for the most part. Many practitioners are the original pioneers, dating back to the 1970s. It’s only natural that this industry reach a point at which a more-or-less normal number of people in it pass away.
‘My take is that the industry had far fewer deaths than normal over its first few decades, although I have no data to support such a claim. We can probably look at some additional factors like the “hard living” associated with some parts of pro audio, as well. Doubtless many demographic and sociological factors play into the complex algorithm that determines deaths in the industry.’
The very recent death of Moray McMillin put John in charge of the official press notification.
‘From a traditional PR perspective, dealing with a sudden death is like dealing with any other crisis – it requires an immediate and measured response. Classic crisis communications strategy says to (i) speak as soon as possible, (ii) only say what you know to be fact and (iii) speak again as new information comes to light. This is how we handled the news of Moray’s death, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I worked with Robbie [Clyne] and my internal team to get a press release out a little over 24 hours after the news broke, but we had information on Facebook and our blog in about an hour.
‘As to content, I treat almost all PR as if I were a journalist who’s not particularly well-liked by his editor; I give the editor exactly what he wants. I try to deliver facts in a neutral language and, when it works, hit on a broadly understood human emotion. With Moray’s announcement, we wrote a fairly brief announcement followed by a few paragraphs summarising his life story.
‘Probably our best move was the creation of a memorial page on Facebook – Remembering Moray – where we encouraged people to share their personal stories about working with and knowing Moray. It seems very successful.
‘To sum up: while people dying is sad it’s also normal, and we shouldn’t get freaked out that it happens. We should deal with it in a dignified, honest, heartfelt way. We follow normal PR procedure: say what you know to be fact and nothing else. With deaths, don’t try to over-write as a journalist; instead, create a space for others to share their own experiences.’
Press call
Well reasoned and welcome comment. But it failed to completely take away the unease I felt. Alongside the sadness that accompanies any death, there is something uncomfortable in reporting it alongside a new mic preamp or console sale. So I called on Audio Boy (Fast-and-Wide’s industry insider) for another opinion…
‘There’s nothing wrong with recognising the careers and achievements of recently-passed industry figures. In fact, a well-informed and respectful obit is a mark of respect,’ he said. ‘At the same time, a line needs to be drawn in terms of who actually gets them, and in this you possibly need guidance that I can’t provide – I’m thinking about the Telegraph or Times obit sections.
‘In the particular case of our business, the number and frequency of occasions when they will be necessary is going to rise, as many of the leading names in pro audio are approaching their twilight years – unpalatable but true nonetheless.
In terms of exploitation, this is something to be wary of. An industry obit probably shouldn’t ever be a leader or any kind of traffic generator per se, it needs to be something that is there for the information of readers.’
More good advice. I thought I’d get the broadsheet angle…
‘Broadsheet newspapers used to take obits very seriously indeed,’ I was told by an old friend and broadsheet editorial veteran. ‘Today, they are regarded somewhat impatiently as a piece of arcana that is becoming irrelevant. However, listening over the years to the languid yet learned discourses produced by obituary gurus, I believe this is the basic broadsheet rule-set:
Accurate: The golden rule. Every date, every name, every fact must must be spot on. It is sad enough that someone is dead, without grieving relatives/colleagues spotting errors. If deadlines are too pressing, leave it to the next edition.
Authoritative: The writer must either have known the deceased very well, or have spoken at length with those who did. If it has to be a clippings job, make it a news report that quotes people, not a formal obituary that doesn’t quote individuals.
Sympathetic: An obit is an appreciation, not an inquisition. Now is not the time to be controversial or let old enemies re-ignite past battles.
Strategic importance vs human detail: It’s important to get to the heart of what made this person significant enough to merit editorial space. It’s important to reveal human detail – often this emerges through private life and interests, which may end up surprising colleagues who saw only the public persona.
Dotting and crossing: Include the key facts: when born, which day died, where and of what, leaving whom behind. If the funeral is yet to come, that date/venue is incredibly important, along with family wishes about flowers/donations and private/public service.
In addition to these newspaper rules, a website can allow comments, but these should be moderated carefully to keep out malcontents. Alert close friends and former colleagues so they can comment first.
Then I turned to pro audio’s news press to compare notes.
‘We frequently run obits in Pro Sound News and through our web/newsletter outlets,’ said Pro Sound News Editor/Pro Audio Review Editorial Director, Frank Wells.
‘It is entirely appropriate to acknowledge the careers, industry contributions and the lives of audio professionals who are no longer with us. We do not have a regular section for such coverage. We run every obit we receive online, and as many as we can in print. For individuals that have left a major impact on the industry, we’ll work on broader coverage of a career, often soliciting industry feedback and personal reflections from colleagues.
‘It’s a tough judgement call as to how much space and coverage to devote to obits. Every life is precious and every member of our community is important to someone. We weigh that knowledge into coverage decision making.’
‘We have an active website which is updated daily, so we tend to post obits up online as soon as we can,’ echoed Dave Robinson, Editor of Pro Sound News Europe. ‘However, when it comes to the print magazine, having limited pagination as we do, an obituary would only be featured if it was someone of special significance to the history of the magazine or the staff. This is not set in stone, it just tends to be the way things have developed as our website and digital presence have grown.’
Who else to ask? Where else to look? Surely there’s absolute truth in a C&W song somewhere… Terri Clark, maybe?
But everybody’s gotta go sometime
Everybody’s gotta cross that line
Even though goodbye won’t come easy
Leave a little bit of love behind
