지역신문 단신 부음 기사의 특성 연구 : 경남지역 일간신문을 중심으로 = A Study on the Characteristics of Brief Obituaries in Regional Newspapers : Focusing on Daily Newspapers in the Gyeongnam Region

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study aims to analyze obituary articles for ordinary individuals from a regional perspective—rather than through a central or celebrity oriented—and to examine whether regional newspapers effectively function as channels of media access. To investigate the characteristics of obituary reporting in local media, four years of issues from daily newspapers in Gyeongsangnam-do were analyzed. The results show that brief obituary notices in local newspapers are no longer working as a channel that guarantees media access for ordinary citizens. The articles showed a clear bias toward men and certain social classes. Some obituaries even included the bereaved family’s mobile phone numbers or bank account numbers. The decline in the media access function has produced a structural vicious cycle: diminished media accessibility for ordinary citizens→a sharp decrease in obituary coverage of the general public→heightened media accessibility for specific social groups→the transformation of obituary sections into a space predominantly utilized by certain occupational groups→a further decline in media accessibility for the general population.