Columnists can be a wonderful asset to a newspaper.
Through first-person writing, columnists can help add a third dimension to news and give a touchstone for readers who want to weigh their own opinions against others. Some columnists are loved, some love to be hated. But the question always arises whether they do, in fact, attract and hold readers. To help get a feel for what a newspaper can expect from a stable of columnists, I solicited the help of a few of my NAA colleagues who sent me readership information for 85 local columnists appearing in their papers. Before summarizing the findings, I offer two caveats.