Columnists
What makes a good columnist? Be original Have an opinion Be consistent with that opinion Be ahead of the curve Know your readers
The column The main objective is to answer the “why” and “how” A columnist must have a genuine opinion that is supported by facts Although much hyped, good columnists are hard to find Not everyone has something to say, especially columnists
Columnists Get paid the most of all reporters Get featured on promotional materials Appear on television and radio
Successful columnists… Always have an opinion Always put things in a proper perspective Always think two steps ahead of everyone else Know how the typical reader will think or feel
Types of columnists The cheerleader The pessimist The protective parent The confused The Monday morning quarterback The diva The lightning rod The intellectual
The cheerleader Always tries to be optimistic When things are bad, he is sad Always predicts things will get better Are his sources paying him to write this stuff?
The pessimist No matter what happens, it will surely fail Always has a negative view Even when things are improving, he advocates for wholesale changes
The protective parent Treats the readers like they are his children Always provides life lessons “It’s okay to feel sad that…” Assumes readers have never experienced setbacks
The confused Also known as the idiot, this person never seems to understand anything They are always in shock when something extraordinary happens They write about the “good old days” when things were better Even if you try to explain to this person that change is a natural part of life, they will always argue their point without fail
The Monday morning quarterback This person seems to know everything or makes you think he does If he was in charge, everything would be perfect
The diva This person thinks they are the best thing to happen to journalism Anything they write, according to them, is perfection He believes people buy the newspaper just for his columns No matter what he writes about, he believes, people will read it
The lighting rod If everyone picks the Red Sox to win the AL East, he picks the Yankees If everyone believes Pete Rose should never be allowed into the Hall of Fame, he writes that Rose should be IF there was no controversy, what would he write about? Does this person really believe everything he writes?
The intellectual Call himself a student of the game Makes references to forgotten deities and historical battles Uses psychology to unravel the mysteries of sports Sports is an analogy for life