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A political columnist offers their opinion on local, regional, national or international issues, often with a specific agenda. They differ from political reporters who must remain neutral. Controversy can lead to termination, but negative feedback can also be a sign of success. Thick skin is necessary for dealing with public feedback.
More than anything else, a political columnist offers his own opinion on local, regional, national or international issues. Your column is offered on a regular or semi-regular basis in a newspaper, magazine or over the Internet and may be a paid or unpaid position. The column in question may focus on a specific issue, or it may be general in nature. Regardless of the subject, the political columnist usually takes a firm stand and tries to convince others of his position.
A political columnist is not to be confused with a political reporter. The latter searches for facts, delivers them as news and must offer them to the public in the most neutral way possible. A political columnist may also collect facts, but there is no pretense of neutrality or impartiality. Political columnists usually operate with an agenda, following the paths of good or evil, right or wrong or black and white. There are few gray areas in a columnist’s mind or style.
Often, those who comment on politics believe strongly in a specific ideology and try to shape their arguments to fit a predetermined philosophical perspective. It’s little surprise that columnists specializing in the political arena are often either loved or hated by readers. These writers are often fired from their positions or may have their columns withdrawn by editors and editors if messages received from readers begin to work strongly against them. A political columnist may well be hired with the specific goal of creating controversy, building a following and increasing readership, but achieving that goal is a common reason for termination.
The irony of establishing a successful political column is that a columnist can easily lose his job if he achieves too high a reader response rating. Publishers and publishers, realizing that publicity is the lifeblood of their operations, become fearful when a political columnist generates excessive negative mail or phone calls. If part of that email arrives from advertising clients, the columnist can count on his days counting. He rarely gets a notice or warning from his superiors and might just wake up to find his column is no longer running in a publication.
A political columnist deals a lot with the public, usually over the phone or email, and must have extremely thick skin. He will occasionally be congratulated or praised by readers, but those who agree with a columnist’s writings and opinions rarely make their voices heard. Those who are angered by a columnist’s views and positions will be quick to respond, and it’s not uncommon for their complaints to be loud, rude and hurtful. An experienced political columnist will see this negative contact as a sign that he is doing his job. Many columnists feel that the main purpose of their craft is simply to make people think.
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