What Does newspaper column Mean
Column is a common term in the field of architecture . It is the vertical support that allows to support the weight of a structure. The concept is also used to refer to a memorial or to name an individual or thing that supports a group of people or a structure. The military formation that marches in an orderly manner is also called a column.
The notion of journalistic column is used to refer to an article of opinion . The journalist who is in charge of producing the column is known as a columnist . For example: "Igor Roskztkov is the author of the most widely read journalistic column in Russia" , "Juan used to work as an editor in the Sports section, but now he is a columnist and his articles appear on the front page of the newspaper . "
The column is a genre of journalism that is used when someone wants to express their point of view on a particular topic. The usual thing is that the graphic media have columnists who are dedicated to writing about certain topics and matters of general interest.
Formerly the genre did not have much prestige; However, the proliferation of writers who have devoted themselves in recent years to publishing articles of this nature has changed the view of journalistic columns . So much so that many writers and intellectuals work as columnists, both in newspapers and in general interest magazines.
Through the opinion of its author, the journalistic column seeks to present an interpretation of reality to guide the reader. In some cases, columns with different opinions on the same topic are usually published, so that people can have at their disposal different points of view on a topic and based on them draw their own conclusions.
Some media, on the other hand, use this space to establish their position in the face of reality and exhibit their thinking and political tendencies. Today this is the most common type of newspaper column; Most of the media belong to large corporations that have a firm ideological line and that try to maintain and reinforce it in all sections of the editorial. In this type of column, either the writers belong to the same ideology of the corporation or they put aside their own ideas to serve the thinking of said company.
Structural characteristic and types of journalistic columns
The journalistic columns can be classified into:
Author columns : They are identified with the name of the journalist who writes them and his photo and denote his opinion about a particular topic. They usually present a friendly language that allows a certain complicity between author and reader. They are generally published with a certain periodicity.
Topic columns : They are usually found in those journalistic media in which several authors write on the same topic. The opinion presented can be diverse to offer some variety to the reader.
There is no single way to compose a newspaper column . Generally the author is the one who must choose tone , perspective and structure ; in this way, the text develops according to the way that the author considers that his idea should be presented. However, in some newspapers , the authors must follow a series of indications, so that all the columns maintain the editorial style that this medium has proposed.
With regard to the topic of the column , usually, unless the company for which he works does not offer him such freedom, the author can choose any current topic that interests him and expand on it.