When an obit is not an obit

Many media failed in prematurely reporting Tom Petty’s death

I was reminded this week of a famous quote attributed to Mark Twain — “reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated” — except the original quote was, like the news itself, incorrect.

What he actually said was “the report of my death was an exaggeration.”

Unfortunately for journalism, there is a long history of such exaggerations, not to mention misquotes.

The death Monday of musician Tom Petty, for example, was prematurely reported online Monday by news outlets around the world, including this one. Family members were hurt and enraged and made that clear.

Entertainment editors at The Spectator worked furiously to put together an obituary package for Tuesday’s print editions before fi- nally pulling it, only to learn later in the evening that Petty died. The obituary appeared in print Wednesday.

The rush to be first with news rather than be correct is a trap news agencies sometimes f all into, though we try to guard against it at The Spectator.

But that is not the sole source of the problem.

There is a long history of this kind of thing for a variety of reasons, some intentional, some unintentional.

The actor Abe Vigoda was so often referred to as “the late Abe Vigoda” over the last 30 years he said it cost him work. Finally, after Vigoda’s status became the butt of many jokes, an actual website was activated to report daily on his “dead or alive” status. It was finally shut down last year, when Vigoda actually died.

Paul McCartney’s alleged death was announced in 1969, and lookalike conspiracy theories were discussed for years afterward, powered by alleged clues in Beatles’ songs.

Others who found themselves at one time or another in the not-deadyet club include: Margaret Thatcher, Neil Young, Miley Cyrus, Michael Jordan, Steve Jobs, Karl Marx, James Earl Jones, Gordon Lightfoot, Rudyard Kipling, Dwayne Johnson, Pope John Paul II, Betty White, Kanye West, Bob Hope, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Queen Elizabeth II, Kirk Douglas, Russell Crowe, Owen Wilson, Britney Spears ...

Many were awkward hoaxes, and there’s always an irresponsible deejay or a news organization somewhere willing to repeat unsubstantiated reports. Petty’s death was not a hoax, but it was still unsubstantiated — and the report a step back for the industry.

A lucky few among us get a chance to read their obituaries before they die, when reputable news organizations release obituaries due to a mistake or technical glitch, which is what happened when CNN in 2003 made public pre-written obituaries for the likes of Bob Hope, Dick Cheney and Fidel Castro.

It may seem morbid to prepare obituaries beforehand, but it is common practice, and almost always makes for a better, fuller story.

And once in a while, there’s a silver lining.

An obituary for Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite, mistakenly published after the death of his brother Ludvig and entitled “the merchant of death is dead” is believed to have been the catalyst for the Nobel Prizes. Nobel didn’t like the way he was destined to be remembered.