A newspaper column is an opinion article.
Column is a common term in the field of architecture . This is the vertical support that allows the weight of a structure to be supported. The concept is also used to refer to a memorial or to refer to 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 a journalistic column is used to refer to an opinion article . The journalist who is in charge of writing the column is known as a columnist . For example: “Igor Roskztkov is the author of the most read newspaper column in Russia” , “Juan worked as an editor in the Sports section, but now he is a columnist and his articles appear on the center page of the newspaper” .
Characteristics of the journalistic column
The column is a genre of journalism that is used when someone wants to express their point of view regarding a particular topic. The usual thing is that the print media have columnists who are dedicated to writing about certain topics and issues of general interest.
In the past, the genre did not have much prestige; However, the proliferation of writers who have dedicated 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 general interest magazines.
An interpretation of reality
Through the opinion of its author, the journalistic column seeks to present an interpretation of reality to guide the reader. In some cases, columns are often published with different opinions on the same topic, so that people can have various points of view on a topic at their disposal and draw their own conclusions based on them.
Some media, on the other hand, use this space to establish their position regarding reality and display their thoughts and political tendencies. Today this is the most common type of journalistic 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 columns, either the writers belong to the same ideology as the corporation or they put aside their own ideas to serve the thinking of said company.
Many newspapers have included journalistic columns in their pages for decades.
Structure and types of journalistic column
Newspaper 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 on 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 : These are usually found in those journalistic media in which several authors write about the same topic. The opinion presented can be diverse to offer some variety to the reader.
There is no single way to compose a journalistic column . Generally the author is the one who must choose tone , perspective and structure ; In this way, the text develops according to the way the author considers his idea should be presented. However, in some newspapers , authors must follow a series of instructions so that all columns maintain the editorial style that the medium has proposed.
Regarding 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.