JUST when you think life can’t
get any better I was offered the chance to help judge the ‘Columnist’ category in
the Regional Press Awards.
The finalists were announced today but if you’re not sure what a local paper columnist is up to these days below
is a summary of their activities provided from their own citations on the
entries, which are in italics.
Authoritative and provocative she takes a
light-hearted look at unusual events and
writes with warmth and wit.
Provocative and opinionated he entertains and provokes in equal measure tackling
observational slice-of-life issues with a dry, often sarcastic but always entertaining take.
A mix of hard-hitting material and a bit of
tongue-in-cheek humour pulls no punches and asks no favours in a frank, well-informed and satirical soundbites of
commentary on life.
Expressly intended to make the reader smile he has the uncanny
ability to hit readers directly on the funny bone, taking a wry look at the
what’s been making the news.
Someone who has his finger on the pulse of the
city, a columnist who is light, amusing and yet makes you think. His modus
operandi is to entertain through humour yet
there is usually a serious purpose behind
that humour.
As
columnists from Addington to Zanesville will attest I am a tough crowd to
please. “No more columns on your wonderful mother/father/grandparents/children/cat/dog/war
veteran neighbour/helpful shopkeeper/etc etc please,” I would advise from the
comfort of the editor’s chair. “In fact, no more columns at all would be best.”
