Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 368 Journalism: Publishing Across Media important insight. The closing may seek to motivate the audience’s actions or to change their attitudes. I’ll watch the Super Bowl next week with my children and wonder how comfortable we fans can be, sitting and snacking while too many of the players we cheer entertain us and get rich at such terrible cost to themselves. Columns Columns are regularly occurring articles published in the same section—and often the same position on the page or in the broadcast—in each edition, broadcast or post. A column is written by the same person— or a series of people—each time it appears. At most major papers, columnists write two or three times a week. Two or three columnists trade off throughout the week, so readers know where to look for a column in each edition. In papers that publish less often, the column appears in every edition. Broadcasts establish a set schedule for columns—and columnists—to appear. Figure 12.1 shows how design elements can mark an opinion column as different from news and feature content. These design elements will draw your audience’s eye and ear to your work. They also signal that the column is the opinion of one person. Columns may appear in almost any section of your publication, but columnists usually focus on their specialties, their beats. That is, they specialize in a limited number of topics. For example, one columnist may write about state politics, laws and policies, another about local governments and the people affected by local government decisions, and a third about education. Your columns will become stronger over time as you learn more about the topics you cover. Though columnists may branch out to write about a variety of topics, your readers should expect them to be highly knowledgeable about a limited number of beats. Your electronic media columnist would not be expected to provide expert commentary on the cheerleading fi nals. Your fashion columnist is not expected to provide expert coverage of religion in his column. The sports section often divides the column-writing responsibilities so that two or more columnists follow different sports in fall, winter and spring. A columnist is a combination of a beat reporter, an op-ed writer and a narrative author who shares his informed opinions with his audience over and over again. His is one of the most prized jobs in journalism. If you do this job well, people will look for your writing no matter what your topic. They will stop you in the halls to agree with you or argue with you about what you have written. If you do it poorly, only your mother will read it. What Does It Take to Be a Good Columnist? What Does It Take to Be a Good Columnist? Columnists need the strengths of an experienced reporter and the skills of an op-ed writer. They also need many of the talents of a short story writer, though of course columnists—like other ethical