AP Has Britney Obit Ready

By Cernig

I can't decide whether this is wishful thinking, prudent planning or just another way to get more play out of the Great Britney Meltdown:

...news that The Associated Press has prepared an obituary for 26-year-old Britney Spears has put the spotlight on a debate transpiring within the business of reporting death: With people grabbing the celebrity spotlight at a younger age, and some of them living lives of obviously dangerous excess, is it time for news organizations to begin preparing for early exits from celebritydom's under-30 crowd?

"It's a complex issue, a complex debate," says Washington Post reporter Adam Bernstein, one of the news media's most respected obituary writers. "It's unclear to what degree somebody really is on the edge. So do you spend the time to put something together when you're wondering whether it will run now or 70 years from now?"

Of the approximately 100 prepared obituaries The Washington Post has in its files, Bernstein couldn't recall any on a person under 30. He also questioned whether an obituary on someone like the troubled pop star could be much more than a recitation of bizarre public behavior, as opposed to focusing on real accomplishment.

"Somebody like Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan or Amy Winehouse, you could arguably put something together," he said, naming three young stars who have lately become more prominent for bouts of bizarre behavior than displays of talent.

On second thought, what am I thinking? Of course its a lame attempt to get more mileage out of the very public crashes of these pathetic celebrity figures.