OBITUARY WRITER: Bob Chaundy

Work, Actually

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I love the fact I get to speak to brilliant, interesting and passionate people as part of the podcast- each one inspires me in different ways. This week is no exception and even more special as I had the pleasure of interviewing my dad, Bob.

Dad was a news journalist for most of his career and for many years specialised in the craft of obituary writing for BBC TV news, BBC Online, radio and then freelance at national newspapers.

It’s a career that’s often very misunderstood - firstly, many don’t know what an obituary is - for the record it’s an article or report offering an account of a person’s life who has died. So in the UK, our media tends to feature obituaries, or obits for short, on famous people who die - you can read the obit section of a newspaper or when you watch the news and you hear a report and see footage taking you through the highlights of someone’s life. So where people might think it’s a bit of a depressing area of journalism, you’ll learn in this chat that it’s the opposite.

As a journalist who used to be on the radio dad’s used to being recorded and interviewed and I think he brings it to life really nicely. I hope you like it and come away with a new appreciation for the obituary!
You can buy his novel Little Black Trains - a tale of life, death and commuting at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Black-Trains-death-commuting/dp/0957667418/ref=sr_1_10?crid=DXCKAN4FBPKD&keywords=little+black+trains&qid=1657277993&sprefix=little+black+trains%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-10
Visit dad's website and podcast at www.consideringart.com for interesting interviews with different artists.