Full obituaries for former Jasper Mayor Fred "Doc" Krusekopf appear in today's Joplin Globe and Lamar Democrat. Both appear to be of the paid variety and are nearly identical.
So far, I have seen no indication that either publication has done a staff-written article about Dr. Krusekopf (though I will not see the print edition of today's Democrat until Monday or Tuesday).
If there is any doubt of the news value of such an article, this passage from his obituary should put that to rest:
In 1995, Dr. Krusekopf was honored by the Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate with a personal Declaration of Achievement. This public recognition was for his fourteen years of service as Mayor of Jasper, six years service as City Councilman, President of Jasper Chamber of Commerce, Commander of American Legion Post 612, active member of the VFW, and his many hours of service on local, state, and federal committees.
He was active in the Jasper United Methodist Church and was currently serving as Chairman of the Administrative Board.
From what I understand, the Sunday Carthage Press will feature an article on Doc Krusekopf. While I still deplore the mentality of let's rip the people off for a few bucks when they die, there are two, far more important reasons, to keep providing free news stories on those who die, whether they be prominent citizens like Fred Krusekopf or people whose names have not graced the front pages of any publication.
First, it simply is a means to recognize the value of all life, but just as importantly, if newspapers are to survive they have to stop doing things that further limit their readership. When the only people to matter are the ones who are willing to pay for the privilege, newspaper circulation will continue to shrink. The good news for the newspaper industry, however, is that if it ever puts itself out of business by making such shortsighted decisions, there will probably be media outlets who will provide its obituary free of charge.
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