Column-Writing

For much of the 20th century, American newspaper columnists offered readers an extraordinary range of content, especially on public affairs and special interest topics, and in local columns written for the hometown audience. Humor, general interest, and special topics columnists regularly contributed to the growing daily newspaper in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Increasingly, columnists began to strike a more serious political tone, so that beginning in the 1930s, the American newspaper reader witnessed an explosion of syndicated columnists who offered reporting, interpretation, or commentary on the news, often from Washington, DC, or New York City.

Columnists filled a unique role in the American newspaper. Columnists added a voice to what could otherwise be a collection of lifeless facts. The art of column-writing humanized ...