Media UK

Obituary Procedure

Introduction

I ran an RSL in Fakenham, Norfolk in August 1997. Our licence expired at midnight on August 30th - a few hours before news services broke the news that Diana, Princess Of Wales, had passed away.

Due to the fact that, back then, very few of us actually knew what to do in these events, I thought the following information would come in useful for others who run RSL's, Hospital or Community radio services.

Sean Cooper.

Who?

The Obituary (obit) Procedure will only usually be applied to the following people, in the event of their deaths...

The Queen, The Prince Of Wales, Prince William & Prince Harry or The Current Prime Minister.

Or a International or National Disaster, such as 9/11.

How Do I Get Confirmation Of Such News?

To confirm any news story, journalists usually gather the information from at least 2 news sources. If you do not have a direct audio/hard copy feed from Independent Radio News or Sky News Radio, tune a television to BBC News 24, Sky News or ITV (for ITN). Also listen to BBC radio services (best bet would be BBC local radio, Radio 4 and/or Radio Five Live).

What ever happens, you MUST NOT make any sudden or unexpected announcements on-air without checking the information first. It has been known for professional broadcast organisations to make the mistake of broadcasting unchecked information, and get it wrong!

What Does My Station Do If The Information Is Correct?

Stations should be prepared in advance of this situation by having a compilation of light music either on CD, minidisc or playout system. It doesn't matter if your station is heavy metal, rock, dance, pop, etc orientated, light music should be played.

For an idea of the type of music to broadcast, songs such as Enigma's 'Return To Innocence', Fleetwood Mac's 'Albatross', Elton John's 'song For Guy', etc are ideal, as is classical music.

Do I Broadcast Any Other Material?

As a mark of respect, jingles, idents, music beds, commercials, promotions, etc usually do not get broadcast.

From time to time a presenter may announce that normal programmes have been suspended following the news of a death. Hourly news bulletins supplied by Independent Radio News (IRN) will last for 5 minutes, NOT the usual 1.5 or 3 minutes.

If your station carries the top-of-the-hour IRN bulletins, the introduction in to the news will consist of a time check followed by "This is Independent Radio News". After 5 minutes, the news bulletin will end with the SOC which will be followed by a 1 minute version of the National Anthem.