The New York Times is one of the finest--and one of the fewest--major newspapers left in the world.
It seems poised to win its 131 Pulitzer prize, more than any other newspaper, with its coverage of this pandemic. This Sunday, May 24th edition shows why.
Its continuing coverage this past Sunday features a modified obituary of 1,000 victims of Covid-19 from all over the United States. The listing represents just 1 percent of the 100,000 pandemic deaths with more certain to follow. And this is just the front page. There are three more full pages of victims as you read on, all personalized with name, age and note of something they were known for in life.
Chianti Jackson Harpool. 51. Baltimore, social worker and then a political fundraiser . Robert Barghaan, 88, New York City, could fix almost anything . Gerald Glenn, 66, Richmond, Wa., police officer turned pastor . Louise Bennett, 91, Albany, Ga., sang her grandchildren a song on the first day of school each year . Roman Melendez, 49, New York, famous in family circles for his birria beef stew . Linda Villanueva Sun, 63, Newport News, Va., organized food programs for children in thePhilippines . Oscar Lopez Acosta, 42, Morrow County, Ohio, died after being released from ICE detention . Alexander Leon Lloyd, 76, attended every presidential inauguration from 1965 to 2012
It is sadly typical that when dealing with large numbers, that the person each number represents is not seen as a real person of individual value... something not easily grasped if it is not your own or some other notable. Death number 77 or number 2,254 or 96,538 or whatever is just a number as the volume of deaths seems to decrease the understanding of an individual, a real person like us.
This presentation personalizes those lost in a way that shows each number as someone who lived and breathed, has a grieving spouse, child, relative or friend who will miss them immeasurably.
"Now, for most of those who died in the past few months," says TheNYTimes, "there were no large gatherings of consolation and recited prayers for peaceful rest. The obituaries that filled our local newspapers and Facebook pages sometimes read like an unending roll all of the coronavirus dead.
"Why has this happened in the United States of 2020? Why has the virus claimed a disproportionately large numbers of black and Latino victims? Why were nursing homes so devastated? Those questions of why and how and whom will be asked for decades to come."
100,000 and counting!
Newspapers just don't happen anymore. Their time, as a group, has passed.
But as a best case scenario, good newspapers, usually in major markets for ad and reader support, tell a story far better and more complete with higher standards than any other medium. It's just that social media has made getting some news and information easier for today's masses... and less complete... and lazier... with less accountability... and more filled with bias. "So sad." as one has noted and proven. So sad.
Edna Salkhonen Alve, 92, Spencer, N.Y., worked beside her husband to transform a rundown dairy farm into a flourishing business . Jeffery Stanley Lin, 70, Middletown, N.J., tried to make everyone around him laugh . Willie Gene Whitaker, 85, Texas, longtime educator who was also a police officer . David Ford, 59, DeWitt Township, Mich., pastor who preached with a lot of strength and voice and sweat. Thomas Cotton, 54, Philadelphia, self-taught legal wiz. Ethel Hamburger, 92, Elkins Park, Pa., educator who said: "I didn't teach a subject, I taught children." . Bruce P. Beinsback Sr., 74, Albany, N.Y., only things he was more proud of than his military service were his children.
Want more? Here's The New York Times link to its story. Thank you The New York Times, for this remarkable humanization of those who didn't survive and their values. God help us all.
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