How are newspaper obituaries actually written?
Frequently before the subject dies — major outlets maintain large files of prepared obituaries for prominent people, updated periodically, so that a considered piece can publish within minutes of a death rather than being assembled in a rush.
Why they are pre-written. A good obituary requires research, interviews with contemporaries, access to archives and careful judgement. None of that is possible in the two hours between a death and the news cycle moving on. Newsrooms therefore treat it as planned work, assigning obituaries of ageing or ill public figures years in advance.
This occasionally goes wrong, and prepared obituaries have been published in error — a recurring and much-discussed category of newsroom accident.
The distinct forms, which are constantly confused:
The news obituary, written by staff, assessing a public life. It is journalism, not tribute — it is expected to record failures and controversies as well as achievements, and a good one is candid.
The death notice or announcement, a paid family listing giving funeral details.
The paid memorial tribute, written by the family.
The appreciation, a personal piece by someone who knew them, published alongside the obituary.
The conventions that carry meaning. Obituary writing has developed a vocabulary of understated phrasing where a great deal is implied rather than stated — a tradition strong in British obituaries in particular, where careful euphemism conveys what direct statement could not.
Legal position. You cannot defame the dead in English law — a defamation action does not survive the person — which is why obituaries can be more direct than reporting about the living. Living people mentioned in them can still sue, which is the constraint that actually applies.
Who gets one, and the fair criticism. Selection reflects editorial judgement about significance, and analysis has repeatedly shown obituary pages skewed heavily toward men and toward particular professions and backgrounds. Several outlets have run projects publishing belated obituaries for people overlooked at the time.
Families can usually submit information, and most outlets publish corrections.