Who are columnists and what is their job

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:42

Who are columnists? Few people know the answer to this question. However, it should be noted that without them there would not be something that a modern person can rarely do without - the press.

Term Definition

So, the first step is to define what columnists are. These are employees of the printed press who are the authors of their own column (section or heading). It is worth noting that sometimes several columnists work on one rubric.

Back in 1926, a book was published in the United States of America called “The Column”. This is very valuable work. After all, it describes in detail who the columnists are, as well as the details of their professional field of activity and many other nuances related to this section of journalism. Some features should be noted. Firstly, today several columnists are working on one column. It is rare when one journalist conducts this or that section independently. In addition, he does not have to be on the staff. Often these are freelance journalists.

Origin of the word

English dictionaries have noticed what a word is like“columnist”, came into use around 1915-1920. This is the so-called "Americanism", which quickly took root in the English language.

It is very easy to understand what the word "columnist" means, because its meaning is quite specific: “a journalist who regularly collaborates with a newspaper”, or “one who hosts a program on television or radio that is similar in style and material with a column, or writes a column in a printed publication.” Interestingly, this word was borrowed from the Latin language - in its meaning it is “a text published in the form of a column”. And with the help of the suffix “ist”, which denotes the name of a person, this professionalism occurred. As a matter of fact, in rather early examples it seems to be recognizably difficult: in English it was written in such a way that in Russian it would sound “kalemnist”. But then the spelling settled down, therefore, when borrowed into our dictionary, the term was transferred as “columnist”.

“Izvestia”

This is a publication that today stands next in importance to such newspapers as "New York Times", "El Pais" and many others. Like all famous magazines, it has columns, sections and headings. It should be noted that Izvestia's columnists are very famous and talented journalists. For example, Dmitry Bykov, who has been published in almost all Moscow weeklies and has been a Member of the Writers' Union since 1991. He is the author of five collections of poems, as well as the novel Spelling and Justification.

Or, for example, Andrei Bilzho, who graduated from a medical institute with a degreepsychiatry. He is a talented cartoonist who has published about seven thousand drawings in his entire life. Andrei Bilzho was awarded the Golden Gong and Golden Ostap awards. In Izvestia, he writes brain-science columns.

Specific work

Speaking about who columnists are, we should note the specifics of this activity. A column can only be run by a person who knows how to understand the topic that she talks about. And he doesn't just have to know what he's talking about. He must know in detail every nuance concerning the topic. It is rare that a journalist writing a column on the topic "Psychology" would write in the gardening section.

Besides, a column is not a note or a report. Often these are small, very concise journalistic works. Accordingly, the second duty of a columnist is to present information as clearly, accessible, and, most importantly, interestingly as possible. The reader, not being an expert in a particular topic on which the column is being written, must understand from the words of the journalist what is at stake. This is the main task of the columnist.