by Martenzie Johnson
When writing a news column or story a journalist’s number one goal should be to tell the audience something that the television could not. Bryan Burwell’s talk on the “Art of the Column” centered on the theme of looking and searching for innovative angles in journalism.
Burwell, a columnist at the St. Louis Dispatch, listed the four keys to column writing (which can also be applied to news writing):
- Perspective
- Opinion
- Observation
- Informed Opinion
The most important of these keys, in my opinion, is presenting an informed opinion. Any “Joe Schmo” could sit in his or her living room and spew opinion to an audience. A writer needs to add factual evidence to their opinion to present an effective, informed opinion.
I wrote a column in 2011 that was ran in the Badger Herald in Madison, Wisc. The topic was on the budget deficit in the state after the recent (controversial) budget proposal of Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
Without stating my political allegiance, I could have simply bad-mouthed the governor but I looked up valid and factual evidence to back up my claims. I searched the prices of tobacco in America, the total deficit/debt of the state of Wisconsin, and how much the state could/would stand to make if it increased the tobacco tax.
Most Wisconsinites and Americans hate the idea of raising taxes but I presented a perspective that most did not have at the time of the state deficit. At the same time, many Americans hate tobacco and its harmful effects.
My column is not a perfect example o
f Burwell’s strategy (perspective, opinion, observation, informed opinion) but I do believe that the angle I took was very important. I started a conversation, which is what journalism is about.
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