Columnists are writers who are tasked with producing content for a newspaper or magazine on a specific topic. Some columnists are employed the publication to which they contribute these regular features or columns, while others are freelancers who write columns for a variety of clients. There are several different types of columnist jobs that can be found in both print and online publications. Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about.
Many people associate the term “columnist” with the work of a gossip columnist. The gossip columnist, a popular feature in many entertainment magazines, seeks to write daily, weekly, or monthly copy about celebrities’ personal and professional lives. While not always regarded as paragons of the journalistic world, there have been columnists of this type who were well-liked the general public and were regarded as formidable opponents.
Advice columnist jobs are also one of the more well-known positions for writers who have a knack for reading people and offering practical solutions to their problems. This type of columnist job is frequently associated with daily newspapers and entails reviewing a large volume of reader correspondence before selecting only a few to respond to in the daily column. There have been a few advice columnists who have achieved iconic status in popular culture, earning the devotion of millions of regular readers, similar to gossip columnists.
The advice columnist position is not the only type of newspaper columnist position. Jobs as a sports columnist are also common and important in daily and weekly newspapers. A sports columnist may cover a wide range of sporting events, statistics, and standings, including local, college, national, and international sporting events, statistics, and standings. True sports columnists, on the other hand, tend to focus on details directly related to sporting events and do not delve into the personal lives of players.
Another of the more common columnist jobs in newspapers and magazines is entertainment reviewing. New motion picture releases, amateur and professional theatrical productions, concerts, and new releases of recorded music may be reviewed columnists. The columns are sometimes written exclusively for one publication; however, it is not uncommon for reviews of this type to be syndicated, allowing the columnist’s words to reach a large number of readers in various locations.
Other newspaper columnist jobs can be found in both daily and weekly newspapers. In many metropolitan areas, real estate columnists are becoming increasingly popular. Jobs as social columnists allow writers to cover and report on events that are relevant to the local society scene. Columnist jobs are also popular among humorists because they allow them to comment on a wide range of bizarre events. Other columnist jobs focus on providing gardening advice, discussing auto repair issues, or discussing current political events and trends.
Because people enjoy reading about a wide range of topics, there are columnist jobs available that cover almost any topic that is likely to attract and retain a readership over time. Regular columnists are extremely valuable to print publications, as many readers will continue to buy newspapers or magazines just to read one or more of their favorite columns. Columnist jobs are likely to grow in frequency and scope of subject matter as more periodicals offer online versions of print publications.