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Celebrities’ Memorial Afterlives

Obituaries, Tributes, and Posthumous Gossip in the Romanian Media Deathscape

Bibliographic Data

ID13628015
AuthorsMihai Stelian Rusu (0000-0001-5474-3895, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume80
Issue4
Pages568-591
Publication date2017-12-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0030222817748418
PMID29249171
OpenAlexW2780339327
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited16

Cross-culturally, dead are protected from posthumous negative evaluations by the universal "nil nisi bonum" precept that governs the ethics within the community of mourners. In this study, we set out to test the observance of this injunction against posthumous gossiping in the Romanian public deathscape. Obituaries and other posthumous articles ( N = 1,148) were collected that covered the deaths of 63 celebrities who passed away between 2013 and 2016. Materials were gathered from the digital archives of three Romanian news sources (a news agency, a "quality" newspaper, and a tabloid), published one week after the moment of death. The findings show that 22% of the articles do contain negative evaluations of the deceased. The percentage rises to 36.4% if we restrict the sample to only those celebrities with a controversial anthumous reputation (19 of 63). These results indicate that celebrities are not spared from critical assessments after they pass away

Art · Gossip · Linguistics · Media studies · Political science · Romanian · Sociology · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Law · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Philosophy

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Unique citing works4
Citations per year0,67
Citation span2020 - 2026 (7)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 3
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