Jack Shafer, on common columnist pitfalls:
"Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make a newspaper columnist. Most columnists start off with a bag full of ideas and endless energy. But the job begins to weigh on even the most talented journalist. He starts writing columns about columns he's written, about his kids, or about the deaths of relatives. He composes columns as open letters to world leaders—or writes from inside their heads. He quotes cab drivers. His columns become more assertion than argument. Finally, he starts picking silly, protracted fights with other media machers."He could have added "she bitches about not having a husband," and he'd be ripping Maureen Dowd instead of Nicholas Kristof/Thomas Friedman/George Will. Posted by Stephen Silver at February 15, 2006 05:18 PM