Link: A Columnists on Columns

The Guardian's Hadley Freeman is ending her time as a columnist and takes time in her final column to discuss her career and being a columnist.

A couple things stand out for me:

  • "Here’s a funny thing: I can’t recall a single day – and there were thousands – that I spent sitting at my desk writing a column", which is very true. News does not happen in a news room or at a desk.
  • She cites columns by others that are controversial and that she disagrees with, noting the importance of ideological differences. Freeman laments the polarization which exists today. [One of my favourite nights out working in national journalism was in 2009 involving people who are today key leaders in right-wing and left-wing publications.]