Newspapers have wide leeway in how they approach obituaries.
There are two types of obituaries that appear in newspapers: editorial and funeral notices. Editorial obituaries are written by newspaper staff to memorialize significant people's lives and accomplishments, while funeral announcement-style obituaries are written by decedents' families and appear in newspapers by paid placement similar to that of an advertisement. Because of First Amendment protections applied to the print media, there are very few laws that can be applied toward obituaries.
Editorial Obituaries
Because the First Amendment declares that no law shall be made to interfere with freedom of the press, newspapers, magazines and online publications have complete autonomy in their decisions regarding obituaries. News agencies are free to cover deaths and obituaries as they deem appropriate to their audiences. Likewise, obituaries may take any angle on the obituary its writers choose, and are free to include or leave out any publicly available fact.
Libel and Obituaries
American libel law states that you can't libel the dead, so any material that appears in an obituary is largely out of bounds of libel restrictions. Statements made in an obituary that may be libelous or defamatory about the deceased's family members or colleagues, although proving the statement is true is always a defense against a libel or defamation tort.
Commercial Obituaries and Death Notices
No laws require survivors to place a death notice or obituary with a local newspaper immediately following a loved one's death, though it is customary. If the deceased's estate goes into probate, most states require a death notice a part of that process, although it's a legal notice and not an obituary.
Most newspapers have guidelines that dictate the format and content that may be placed in commercial obituaries, and require proof of death--usually provided by a funeral home-- to validate the entry.
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