Charlie Brooker writes a weekly column for The Guardian called Screen Burn, but there are also a number of celebrity columnists who write weekly for different papers. Celebrity columns are particularly popular. Nine times out of ten it is not the subject matter that attracts the reader, but the columnist themselves. It appears that readers seek out the writer rather than their subject matter; for example Jeremy Clarkson who writes a weekly column for The Sun has a very large following.

 Column writing requires clarity of thought, and the ability to write simply and to the point. Journalists must assure that their subject matter is one that lends itself to comment or ridicule. Subject matter can also be inspired by a quote, the actions of a public figure or the day to day trivia of the journalist themselves (this is particularly the case with some celebrity writers). The most successful columns appear to be where columnists write about trivial, day to day events, they feature heavily in magazines such as Now and More, in the past columns by Kerry Katona and Katie Price have sold more copies of the magazine purely because of their celebrity persona. As a nosy nation- this form of column writing is popular amongst the British public.

However, not everyone is keen to follow the work of celebrity writers, Guardian columnist, Ben Goldacre, suggested last week at the Future of Journalism conference in London, that people want to read articles by writer’s who have a trusted knowledge about a subject, instead of “star writers giving their opinions.” He said, journalism needs “more editors helping experts in their field to produce something that is understandable”. Goldacre writes a weekly column called Bad Science, informing the public about pills and potions that are tried and tested. As a professional doctor, his column is both entertaining and informative. He believes that with the growing blogging phenomenon, columns need to compete to hold their popularity, and so they need to be informative rather than opinionative. A recent report by Continental Research asked the public how much they would be willing to pay for online content. The research then investigated which columnists people would be willing to pay for.

 Here are the results: Top 10 national newspaper columnists people would be most likely to pay for online: 1. Jeremy Clarkson, The Sun, Sunday Times 2. Charlie Brooker, The Guardian 3. Richard Littlejohn, Daily Mail 4. Giles Coren, The Times 5. Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph 6. Gordon Smart, The Sun 7. Lorraine Kelly, The Sun 8. Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday 9. Jane Moore, The Sun 10. Melanie Phillips, Daily Mail.

The report also showed that although people would consider paying for the above journalists, only 21% would actually pay for online content; suggesting that the introduction of monthly or micropayments for online content won’t be successful if and when it is introduced.

As you can see from the above results, columnists from tabloid and broadsheet newspapers are both successful. The light hearted tone that you find in The Sun, is not appropriate for all publications. The style of the articles in the broadsheets and tabloids differ greatly. In order to show the contrast between the columns that appear in the broadsheets and tabloid newspapers I have attached some examples. I have attached a column from Jeremy Clarkson which was published in The Sunday Times and then another column that appeared in The Sun; it is clear to see how his vocabulary and the formality of the piece change from tabloid to broadsheet. However, one thing that does not change in Clarkson’s writing is his tone and the subject matters don’t differ greatly. Regardless of whether he is writing for The Sun or The Sunday Times, Clarkson writes about light hearted topics and keeps his writing light and humorous, this is simply his writing style. With online technological advances, printed journalism is slowly fading out and free online content is becoming more popular. As a result of this, column writers are beginning to try their hand at online blogging.

Newspaper columnists should in theory make the perfect bloggers, considering that they have been doing exactly what a blog requires in print for many years. A blog is more interactive than a newspaper column, “the journalist’s style must adapt to the different medium it is: more intimate, more informally conversational, more interactive. The writer can ask rhetorical questions – ‘Prince Charles is a plonker, isn’t he?’ – knowing that a dozen Royalists may leap to his defence;” explains Michael White, who writes the Guardian’s Politics blog. Readers are able to immediately comment on the page, instead of going through the rig moral of writing a letter to the editor. And so he warns bloggers, that like column writing you will receive feedback, but on a much larger scale. Adding that amongst the “hooligans” there are also, “clever, decent people who simply want to tell you things you didn’t know.”

 At the annual gathering of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, Robert Niles asked why more columnists aren’t making a successful transition to online publishing. He sought to discover why more journalists aren’t jumping on the self-publishing band wagon, pointing out that in order for journalists to create a successful online brand they need to start using Twitter and Facebook to aid them. Niles found that journalists are becoming frustrated at Twittering to fewer than 100 followers, when they are used to their printed articles being read by hundreds more readers. He points out that “social media tools are just that…tools.” If a writer shares their passions with online readers it will keep their online brand up to date and in turn, it will help to continue the popularity of a writer’s printed brand.

Newspapers are particularly successful at using Twitter to attract attention to their articles. Below are two examples: MailOnline- Why are more babies are born on Christmas Eve than any other day of the year? http://bit.ly/a1lahl Guardiannews- British soldiers killed in Afghanistan named by MoD http://bit.ly/arlHJQ

In order to ensure that columnists remain popular within the field of journalism, they need to embrace the relationship that has developed with online blogging.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/jeremy_clarkson/article6850623.ece

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/jan/23/charlie-brooker-screen-burn

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/columnists/clarkson/article652539.ece

             If you are not aware of what a Kindle is, don’t worry, you’re not alone. After Sony’s e-Reader made a tiny dent in the market, Amazon tried to go one better, releasing the Kindle in 2006 which can hold up to 200 ebooks, other digital media and an entire dictionary. The new Kindle DX, which has already been released in America has a larger capacity and is targeted towards readers of newspapers, magazines and other documents.

            If you’re someone who loves to curl up in front of the fire to re-read your favourite scene, or sneak a few pages of the opening chapter on the bus, tell me, would you give up your favourite floppy eared paperback for an ebook? I didn’t think so. Personally after a few readings, I think I’d go back to my old faithful. Michael Smith, head of the International Digital Publishing Forum agrees, “ebooks are a growing niche now, but I certainly don’t see a time when everyone will be reading them. People just love what the traditional book represents to them.”  

            After an unsuccessful start with sales figures, Amazon’s perseverance has paid off, with sales continuing to rise over the years. However, there is one major problem; even though Amazon have announced a rise in sales, they have not yet released any figures.  Therefore, implying that sales cannot be so outstanding that us bookworms need to worry just yet.

            With Amazon’s clever phrasing implying that the Kindle is everywhere, they are actually shooting themselves in the foot. With all the hype and build up that ebooks are having such success, a writer or publisher who is expecting great sales from their ebook would be disappointed if the actual figures dispute the media hype, resulting in them being reluctant to enter the market again.  

            Amazon director Ian Freed remains positive; “If you were a reporter 700 years ago, you would have said the scroll will never disappear because it is a good technology. Then someone came along with the physical book and it changed everything. I think the same thing is happening here. The only question is does it take three years, five years or 20 years?”

          I think we are safe that ebooks won’t take over just yet, but if that dreaded day comes, just think about the free shelf space you’ll have!