Big city newspapers have staff who write columns only and journalists who report exclusively.  Smaller city papers such as the Saskatoon Star Phoenix and Regina Leader-Post rely on people who both report and write columns.  At the Leader-Post, Bruce Johnstone is one of them. 

Johnstone has been with the paper for 31 years, 23 of them as the Financial Editor. In that time, he’s written hundreds, probably thousands of columns, while continuing to report on business. In the following, he answers my questions about newspaper columns including the difference between them and reporting.

The expression of opinion is the main difference.  A reporter is required to provide both sides of the story as a matter of course and not slant the facts to suit the story.  While reporters can and do have opinions about the stories they write, they shouldn’t be obvious to the reader.  A columnist can and should express an opinion on an issue.  But it should be based on facts and the conclusion should be the logical extension of those facts.

To what extent have newsmakers refused to speak with you because of something you said in a column?

This can be a problem, especially in smaller newspapers, where you tend to wear several different hats (columnist, reporter, reviewer, etc.) I think I can honestly say that it hasn’t been a significant problem in carrying out my reporting duties.  People understand the difference between reporting and column writing and accept that you can do both.  But it does require the reporter/columnist to go out of his or her way to present both sides of the story and display no appearance of bias whenever reporting on an issue of the day.  It may also constrain columnists from taking more extreme positions on an issue, which is probably a good thing.

What have you learned over the years about the craft?

In the 23 years that I have been writing a weekly column for the Leader-Post. I have found that it rarely pays to get personal in a column. People, even politicians, have feelings and don’t like their motives, their character and their integrity being challenged or impugned.  Criticize the policy, not the politician; hate the sin, not the sinner.  Politicians and other public figures can make tempting targets for columnists and their pot shots, but they should be treated the same way you would want to be treated…with respect.  What’s surprising is how thin-skinned some politicians are and what long memories they have.

What are the challenges and frustrations of writing a column?

The big challenge is fitting your well-honed, well-reasoned argument into 16 column inches, no more no less, regardless of the complexity of the topic.  Like the sonnet form or iambic pentameter from the poet, the column can either be a straitjacket or a structure for the columnist’s thoughts and ideas.  I actually prefer to write to one specific length every week because it forces you to be disciplined and direct in your writing, rather than rambling and meandering. Like daily deadlines, fixed column lengths ensure that journalists –many of whom are great procrastinators –get home every night.  The frustrations are deskers who put wrong or bad headlines on your column.  I had one recently that suggested I agreed with a decision Premier Brad Wall made on harmonization or equalization or some such issue, when I actually disagreed with him.  Or maybe it was the columnist’s fault that the column wasn’t clear enough?

What do readers tell you….the good, the bad, the ugly?

It’s no surprise that columnists, like everybody else, tend to get more brickbats than bouquets from the public.  Some readers politely question your knowledge of the issue, others attack you for your obvious political bias (I’ve been variously accused of being in the pocket of the NDP, Conservatives, Liberals and the Saskatchewan Party), while others question your parentage.  From time to time, however, you do get a thank you or pat on the back for a job well done.  Those rare occasions more than make up for the sting of the critics’ barbs.

The world of blogging has created an environment, it seems, where everyone is going public with their opinions.  What does this mean to those who are professional in the craft?

I  do think that blogging is changing how we get information and opinion. No longer do newspaper columnists have a monopoly on the expression of opinion on matters of the day.  We are competing with many thousands, if not millions, of bloggers with opinions on everything from soup to nuts.  What then is our “value proposition,” as the business person would say?  Columnists working in the mainstream media must continue to improve their craft, the craft of writing, as well as provide thoughtful, knowledgeable, and balanced analysis of the issues, without prejudice or partisan bias.  In a world where it is increaingly difficult to know where information is coming from, what special interests are disseminating it and how much spin is being placed on it, mainstream media must remain above partisan influence, special interests and spin-doctors.  Our value proposition is our objectivity, professionalism and freedom from influence.  If we don’t have that, we have no advantage over blogs that are ubiquitous and cheap.