Submitting and Publishing Obituaries Through Sun Chronicle
The Sun Chronicle serves the Brockton and Greater South Shore area of Massachusetts. Their obituary section is one of the more established local print-and-digital platforms in the region. If you're trying to get an obituary published there, it's not particularly complicated, but there are a few details people consistently get wrong on the first attempt. I've helped multiple families navigate this process over the years, mostly by phone and email. The straightforward part is that they accept obituaries directly from families, from funeral homes, or through third-party services. The part that trips people up is understanding the difference between a death notice and a full obituary, because they price them differently and one contains significantly more content than the other. A death notice is essentially a factual announcement. It runs the name, age, date of death, surviving family members, and where the funeral or memorial service will take place. It's shorter, cheaper, and typically runs around $150 to $200 depending on current rates. A full obituary can be several hundred words or more. It includes biographical details, achievements, hobbies, military service, career history, and personal anecdotes. Those run $300 to $500 or more depending on length and whether you include a photograph.
Here's the thing most people don't realize before they call: the Sun Chronicle publishes online and in print, and the online version can sometimes run differently from the print version. They may trim the online obituary for space or formatting, or they might run a shortened version in print and link to the full version online. I once had a family submit a 400-word obituary that included their grandfather's full military service record and a detailed career timeline. The print version came back trimmed to about 200 words without the family knowing why. The workaround was straightforward — I had them send the full text via email with a note saying "print version preferred" and flagged which details were essential versus optional. After that, the editor trimmed non-essential details rather than the other way around. Another thing that catches people off guard is the submission deadline. The Sun Chronicle's cutoff for same-day or next-day printing is usually around noon, and if you miss that window, your piece may not appear until the following day's edition. Online, submissions go live faster, but the editorial team still reviews everything before publishing. Allow at least a few hours for processing. If you're working with a funeral home, they often handle the submission directly, which removes one variable from the equation. You'll need to provide a few specific things regardless of which route you take. A clear, high-resolution photograph of the deceased works best. Anything under 300 DPI tends to look muddy in print. They accept JPEGs and PNGs, but TIFF files are ideal if your funeral director can provide them. You also need the complete list of surviving family members, which means full names and relationships. People often forget in-laws or step-relatives, and the editor won't add anyone not listed. Include them if they matter to the family.
The contact information on file with the newspaper matters more than most people expect. If there's a typo in the phone number or email they have for the submitting party, corrections during the approval process slow everything down. I always recommend double-checking the contact details before submitting, because a correction request that comes in after the draft is already typeset gets deprioritized. Payment is typically handled by phone or credit card over the phone. They do not accept payment by mail in all cases, and paying online through their website may not be an option depending on which market you're in. Have your credit card ready and a copy of the obituary text saved so you can reference it during the call. The Sun Chronicle does offer some pre-need options, which means you can submit and pay for an obituary before it's needed. This is useful if you know someone is in a fragile health situation and the family wants to have everything ready to go. The content gets held in their system and published upon notification of death. This isn't available at every newspaper, and the Sun Chronicle's policy on pre-need obituaries has changed over the years, so it's worth calling to confirm current availability.
Get the Full Details
One limitation worth noting: the Sun Chronicle's reach is regional. If the deceased has family or close friends outside the Brockton area, in South Hadley, or across the South Shore, those people may not see the print edition. The online version helps, but it still skews toward local readers. For a more national or specialized audience, you might consider supplementing with a platform like Legacy.com, which syndicates obituaries to multiple newspapers and receives significantly more traffic from people searching for someone by name. Some families run the Sun Chronicle for local coverage and Legacy for broader reach. That approach usually costs more but covers both bases. If you're dealing with a complicated family situation — estranged relatives, unclear relationships, or disputes over how the person should be remembered — the editorial team will generally stick to what you provide and won't make editorial judgments. That's actually helpful in those cases, because it keeps the process neutral. Just make sure everyone involved agrees on the submitted text before you send it, because once it's published, corrections run additional fees. To get started, visit the Sun Chronicle website and look for their obituary submission page, or call their newsroom directly. Have the text typed out, the photo ready, and the family information organized before you begin the call. It saves time and reduces the chance of errors that require corrections later.
