death notices

Here’s a tale of two broadcasters, undeterred by the economic doldrums, who started new broadcasting-support businesses. Ex-KXASer Larry Watzman created Revnew, which offers stations inexpensive, turnkey promotional campaigns that come complete with slick videos. Linda Wellman, who says she came up with the idea of online/on-air obits as an account executive at WNEM Flint, has gone off to market her own service, DirectObits.tv. “My goal is 70 stations by 2012,” she says.

A number of companies are trying to take what has long been the local newspaper’s franchise — death notices — and move them to TV, both on air and online. They all depend on partnering with funeral homes that sell the product and input information that is delivered directly to station websites.