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QUALITIES OF A COLUMN WRITER:Personal, Professional, Highly Educated

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Feature and Column Writing ­ MCM 514
VU
LESSON 30
QUALITIES OF A COLUMN WRITER
Personal
A columnist must possess some qualities at the personal level, as these are essential for him to be known
as a better individual as well.
Professional
Someone with just personal qualities is never a successful professional, until he possesses certain
qualities, which are a must for any professional.
Highly Educated
It is a fact that not all columnists are well-read or educated. In Urdu journalism, we find that there are
many columnists who are not highly well-qualified, but with the passage of time, they have mastered the
traits of columnists and they are now heavily paid by the newspapers. No doubt, they have definitely
well-read now. Those who are not into reading, expose themselves, sooner or later.
On the other hand, degrees do matter now, as these have become a pre-requisite to the introduction
because time has changed. Now people definitely see who is talking and what, especially when the media
is progressing day and night; hence making it pertinent for a columnist, to be well-read and educated.
It is deemed so because he will understand the changing times, and will be able make readers comprehend
too.
Secondly, it important for him to having knowledge of the related fields for which he is writing.
Widely Read
Reading is a must for every one, but for a columnist, reading of almost all subjects is a necessity because
knowing everything around him and mastering one can do. One subject, he must know it thoroughly
because a columnist acts as a preacher-cum-opinion maker; hence he must know things to put them in a
proper perspective.
Well-versed in Language
Good command of the language is also a must for a columnist, whereas a reporter or an editor can do with
simple language, but a columnist has to play with words to create humour, situation, criticism, argument
and conclusion. So it is very important for a writer to present ideas in better language. For columnists, it
is a must that they write in the best language.
Sense of humour
Humour makes a columnist popular, but it is a must for him that he never uses gross language or dirty
jokes. Some columnists, mostly of the Urdu newspapers and English rarely, use jokes but to good avail.
Actually, in the process, they are making comparisons, which is again popular with Urdu columnists.
Good sense of humour making the column looks softer in its outlook.
Quality reporter
A columnist has qualities of a good reporter, as City diary or personal columns cannot be based on news
items. The columnists move around and look at the society besides seeing through the news to get insight.
Moreover, they are also looking for a scoop and think and probe like a reporter, while analysing things
like a columnist.
Complete knowledge about laws and ethics of journalism
Huge responsibilities are on a columnist' shoulders, when he is writing. He knows the laws, and keeps
journalistic ethics in mind besides never relegating the editorial policy to redundancy.
A responsible columnist never creates a problem for the editors by being oblivious to the above.
He also knows the readers well, and always give due respect to their religious feelings and nationalistic
sentiments.
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Feature and Column Writing ­ MCM 514
VU
Creative capabilities
Creative capacity is the hallmark of a columnist because if it is not there, then he cannot make columns
interesting, and hence cannot guide readers. Secondly, he will also fall short of topics and subjects.
Intelligence coupled with hard work
A columnist must work hard besides earnestly using brain and argument. He must know how to keep his
readership intact. He must look for new subjects because he does not want that his readers get bore with
the ideas oft written about.
Honesty and integrity
A columnist never plays in the hands of the corrupt elements, and he always keeps his honesty and
integrity unscathed. A lot of attempts are made at columnists for `buying' them, and money-bags afloat in
critical times besides other favours are given. If any nefarious is done, it is but exposed and known to
people.
Knowing the `players', manipulators, advertisers
A simpleton can be robbed, but a simple columnist cannot be, as he knows about players, manipulators
and advertisers, who are looking for favours in respective areas. A wise columnist never throws them
away or get too close to them, as they are also his source. He keeps a safe distance.
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Table of Contents:
  1. IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE:Feature writing, Explanation of the definition
  2. SOURCES OF MATERIAL:Commemorations, Science and Technology
  3. INTERNET USAGE IN FEATURE WRITING:Be very careful, Website checklist
  4. WHAT MAKES A GOOD FEATURE?:Meeting demands of readers
  5. DEMANDS OF A FEATURE:Entertainment and Interest, Both sides of picture
  6. CONDUCTING AND WRITING OF INTERVIEWS:Kinds of interviews
  7. WRITING NOVELTY INTROS:Punch or astonisher intros, Direct quotation intros
  8. STRUCTURE OF FEATURES:Intro or Lead, Transition, Body
  9. SELECTION OF PICTURES, ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS:Sources
  10. FEATURES AND EDITORIAL POLICY:Slanting or angling feature
  11. HUMAN INTEREST AND FEATURE WRITING:Obtaining facts, Knowing how to write
  12. NEWSPAPER FEATURE STORY:The Business Story, The Medical Story
  13. THE NEWSPAPER FEATURE STORY IDEA:Conflict, Human interest
  14. MAGAZINE FEATURE VERSUS DAILIES:Feature versus Editorial, An overview
  15. WRITING THE SPECIALISED FEATURE STORY:The Deadline Feature Sidebar
  16. MODERN FEATURE AND ITS TREATMENT:Readers’ constraints
  17. MODERN FEATURE WRITING TECHNIQUE:The Blundell Technique
  18. ADVICE TO FEATURE WRITERS:A guide to better writing, Love Writing
  19. COLUMN WRITING:Definition, Various definitions, Why most powerful?
  20. COLUMN WRITING IN MODERN AGE:Diversity of thought, Individuality
  21. ENGLISH AND URDU COLUMNISTS:More of anecdotal, Letting readers know
  22. TYPES OF COLUMNS:Reporting-in-Depth Columns, Gossip Columns
  23. OBJECTIVES AND IMPORTANCE OF COLUMNS:Friendly atmosphere, Analysis
  24. WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIALS AND BASIC POINTS THAT GO IN TO THE FORMING OF A COLUMN?
  25. STYLE:General and a specialised writing, How can a columnist improve it?
  26. GENERAL STYLE OF THE COLUMN:Unified Style, Anecdotal Style, Departmental Style
  27. STRUCTURE OF A COLUMN:Intro or lead, Main body, Conclusion
  28. COLUMN WRITING TIPS:Write with conviction, Purpose, Content
  29. SELECTION OF A TOPIC:Close to your heart, Things keeping in Queue
  30. QUALITIES OF A COLUMN WRITER:Personal, Professional, Highly Educated
  31. WHAT MUST BE PRACTISED BY A COLUMNIST?:Pleasantness, Fluency
  32. SOURCES OF MATERIAL OF COLUMNS:Constant factors, Interview
  33. USEFUL WRITING DEVICES:Be specific, Use Characterisation, Describe scenes
  34. COMMON WRITING PROBLEMS:Eliminate clichés, Don’t misuse words
  35. WRITING THE COLUMN:Certain thumb rules, After writing the column
  36. ARTICLE WRITING:Introduction, Definition, Contents, Main Segments, Main body
  37. HOW TO WRITE AN ARTICLE?:It is more efficient, It is more believable
  38. TYPES AND SUBJECTS OF ARTICLE:Interview articles, Utility articles
  39. FIVE COMMANDMENTS, NO PROFESSIONAL FORGETS:Use Key Words
  40. ARTICLES WRITING MISTAKES:Plagiarising or 'buying articles, Rambling
  41. WRITING THE ARTICLE:Various parts of article, The topic sentence
  42. What to do when you have written the article?:Writing the first draft
  43. TEN STANDARD ARTICLE FORMATS:The informative articles
  44. LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR WRITERS:Libel, Doctoring Quotes
  45. REVISION:Importance of language, Feature writing, Sources of material