Wow, when did that happen? Wasn't it free at one time?
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They have been charging for detailed obituaries for several years. The description of this service on the TD obituary page indicates the the obits "may be placed by funeral directors on behalf of the family." A TD classified ads representative told me that the family could place the obit directly provided they had all the "paperwork" in order.
The TD's fee for printing the obituary is 58 cents per WORD! A photograph can be added for an additional $30.00.
A $300.00 obituary, with no photo, would run to 517 words @ 58 cents/word. By my reckoning obits, on average, consume about 4 inches for each 100 words. A 517-word obit would occupy slightly more than 20 column inches, which is only about 2 inches shy of an entire column in the TD's current format. That would be a considerably longer than average obituary.
By comparison, a 5-day, four-line ad for merchandise up to $99.00 is billed at $8.98. A 4-line classified ad runs to about 10 words. That comes to 8.98 cents per word, BUT the ad runs for 5 days, so the per day cost per word is only 18.9 cents.
The Times Daily is a business. A funeral home is a business. Businesses are fee to charge whatever they want for their services. You and I are free to decide whether to use their services and pay what they charge. To the extent that folks are in servitude to the bizarre and expensive death industry, they must pay the going rates, which in my opinion--especially as regards the funeral home business--are unnecessarily expensive and often a very heavy burden upon survivors. Die gracefully and get your carcass put in a cheap wooden cbox and cremated. Have the ashes spread out over your favorite fishin' hole, golf course, or honky-tonk parking lot.