Coupeville Sports

   My dad, Marlo Svien (on right), would be for this, since he always appreciated a good bargain. (Photo courtesy Sarah Kirkconnell)

It’s a sham and it’s a scam.

The Whidbey News-Times, like many other Canadian-owned newspapers, once thought the good times would never end.

Then, Craigslist came along and killed the classified ads business, and panic set in.

They need money to prop up their failing business model and they’ll get it anywhere they can.

So, they decided to stick it to the folks trying to pay tribute to their dearly departed.

The WNT currently charges $15 a column inch to run an obituary. They’ll take your photo and cut it down to two column inches to go with the obit, at a cost of $30.

Having written an obit for a local family in the last week, I can state for a fact that 147 words and a teeny, tiny pic will cost you $150 if you choose Canada.

That’s not very much space to sum up a person’s life. But, you have to choose between thrift and story-telling, unless you’re wiling to let the credit card bill roll up to several hundred dollars.

Until now.

Coupeville Sports is all about bringing the news back to the people, with no pay walls to restrict how and when you get that info.

It’s simple.

For a flat donation of $50, I will run your obit (no word count restriction) and one or two full-sized photos on my blog.

What would cost you considerably through the WNT will no longer break your wallet at a time when you have other things to be concerned about.

If you look at the top of Coupeville Sports, you will see a tab marked Obits. Click on that and you will find a dedicated section where they will be.

This service is open to anyone, regardless of what town they live in. You do not have to be from Coupeville to be honored on Coupeville Sports.

The obits will always be there, for friends, families and interested readers to get a glimpse into your loved one’s life. Once it’s published, it will remain there for the life of the blog.

While I do not have a print edition, you can easily print off the obit from my site if you would like to have a permanent copy. Without having to pay a second time when you purchase a newspaper.

Creating an obituary is not easy. I have done so for too many family members over the past 10 years not to appreciate that.

My hope is by bringing the financial cost down, at least one part of the process becomes significantly less painful.