Column (periodical)

A column[1] is a recurring piece or article in a newspaper, magazine or other publication, where a writer expresses their own opinion in few columns allotted to them by the newspaper organization. People who write columns are described as columnists.

A newspaper column by Don Marquis

What differentiates a column from other forms of journalism is that it is a regular feature in a publication – written by the same writer or reporter and usually on the same subject area or theme each time – and that it typically, but not universally, contains the author's opinion or point of view. A column states an opinion. It is said to be like an open letter. A column also has a standard head, called a title, and a by-line (name) at the top.

Newspapers usually print all articles organised in narrow columns of many lines of text; the term column as discussed in this article is distinct from, though derived from, this layout description.