Obits Analysis

The New York Times did an obit on John Payton, a lawyer who fought for civil rights.

The obituary has a standard obit lead for Payton. It gives what he did, when he died, where he died, and how old he was. This lead works because he did not die in any unusual way. In fact, the cause of death was unknown.

The obit uses the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and President Barack Obama as sources. Both of the sources were used for quotes on Payton.

This obit gives a lot about what Payton did for his profession and how accomplished he was as a lawyer. It talks about awards he received and cases he won. In that aspect it really is not that different from a resume.

This obit really does not differ from a resume at all. I am essentially only told where he went to college, and how successful of a lawyer he was. There is nothing that tells me what type of person Payton was outside of his job as a civil rights lawyer.

There is not a small special quality about him that comes through the story at all.

Overall this is a very standard obituary without anything special or flashy about it. It just tells the information of why Payton's death is important.