So you wanna be a columnist, eh?
Young aspiring journalists and wizened elders often ask how I scored this sweet gig. Truth is, I don’t entirely know. There’s no chance of replicating the particular mix of skill, work and (mostly) serendipity that contributed to my path here.
Still, I can offer advice to other lucky pundits who land this perch. Lord knows my own track record is far from perfect, but here are 11 pointers and principles I’ve aspired to:
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1. It’s not difficult to say something interesting. It’s not difficult to say something true. The real challenge is saying something both interesting and true.
Unfortunately, the overlap in the Venn diagram of those two categories is slim. There’s often a trade-off between short-term interestingness and long-term reputation. You can get more clicks today with a bold prediction or hot take, then have egg on your face almost immediately thereafter. Or you can be a little safer or more boring today, but potentially more credible tomorrow.
Of course, that credibility might be worthless if no one reads you.
All pundits have different risk tolerances in this trade-off. Social media and the more fractured news landscape have increased incentives for hot takes. In a just world, maybe there would be greater reputational penalties for getting wild, bold predictions wrong all the time. But even if it’s not always apparent from audience reaction or short-term virality, your sources will remember when you got over your skis.
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2. Always put the shoe on the other foot.
When evaluating an unflattering comment, scandal or study from some faction you dislike, ask yourself: How would you react if the protagonist were someone with views sympathetic to yours? Conversely, if someone you usually agree with fouls up or offers some thinly sourced claim (e.g., “x pays for itself”), would you accept it credulously if it came from the other side?
On policy claims specifically, a lot of political groups have effectively hacked the journalistic brain. They produce studies (really, “studies”) to reverse-engineer evidence for a preferred political position. Just because something is called research – maybe it even has footnotes, equations, other superficial trappings of scholarship – doesn’t mean it’s correct. Enlist a neutral, skeptical expert source to stress-test the findings. Especially when they seem too good to check.
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3. It’s harder to publicly break with your friends than your enemies. But you have to be willing to do it.
You do your intellectual allies, or those who think of themselves as such, no favors by withholding good advice. This was a major lesson of the Bidenflation phenomenon. You might also be at your most persuasive when perceived as breaking from your usual bedfellows. Critics will have a harder time writing you off as a crank or a bad-faith enemy. Again: Credibility matters.
Yes, you will get hate mail. Some of the nastiest attacks I’ve received over the years (a high bar) came from people who assumed I was on their “team,” then felt betrayed when I wrote something they disagreed with.
Don’t let this cow you. Some of your colleagues are literally reporting from war zones! Surely you can withstand a few mean tweets.
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4. That said, your goal is not to deliberately pander or provoke. Your goal is to persuade.
It’s okay – often useful – to dispute the conventional wisdom. But contrarianism shouldn’t be your entire personality. If you are being provocative, that provocation should be in service of some higher objective. The bravest writers aren’t the ones most willing to enrage audiences; it’s those who are indifferent as to whether any particular column earns them friends or enemies, so long as they get it right.
Some of this is just about using your influence responsibly. I wrote lots of contrarian takes when I was a student journalist and stakes were low. But a national column is a bigger and more consequential platform! Don’t write something you don’t really believe. People with power might read it and believe it, too.
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5. Pay more attention to what politicians do than what they say.
This is particularly important in the Trump era, when “flood the zone” refers to both unhinged presidential commentary and monumental policy changes. Yes, the colorful tweet or White House drama is easier to cover than some technical new law or regulation. But the latter is more likely to affect real people’s lives. And precisely because it’s harder to report on, it’s where you can add more value.
One of my most deeply held political beliefs is that complexity rewards demagogues. Don’t enable the demagogues by simply reporting what they say; explain what they’re doing and what the stakes are.
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6. Clear writing comes from clear thinking.
Map out your thoughts before you start writing. If you haven’t really thought something through, you will never get it right on paper.
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7. If readers don’t understand your writing, that’s your fault, not theirs.
The burden of clarity is always on the writer, as my sixth-grade English teacher once taught me.
You’ll be tempted to ignore this dictum in the current media environment. Some political operations (and aligned news outlets) will deliberately misread your work to score points or embarrass you. But some sources of confusion are common among normal, good-faith readers, too. Don’t get mad at them. Just get better.
Things that seem obvious to you often need to be spelled out. This might require repeating basic definitions and clarifications across multiple columns. Do not assume readers have already studied your prior oeuvre, unless those readers are your mom. (Hi, Mom!)
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8. Never conclude a column with “only time will tell.”
I will judge you if you do this.
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9. Always have more material than you need.
If you barely have enough material to compose 750 to 800 words – standard column length – that probably means you’re wrong about something. You need much broader knowledge to know what you don’t know and avoid invisible trip wires.
Plus, if you have no scraps left on the cutting-room floor, it might mean your entire column was just the scraps to begin with.
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10. Resist the instinct to conflate confidence with competence, or certainty with correctness.
Be suspicious of anyone who claims to have all the answers, even if they give flashier quotes or make better TV. Instead, trust people who say, “I don’t know.” Especially trust those who acknowledge when they got things wrong.
The same applies to your own views: When facts or evidence change, your mind should, too. That’s a sign of intellectual strength, not weakness. Prepare to be transparent about when and why your positions evolved. You will take heat for it, but you’ll boost your authority in the long run.
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11. That said, know your immovable principles and red lines – journalistically, ethically, ideologically – and why you’re columnizing in the first place.
What core values do you stand for? What will you not excuse away, as the proverbial frog boils? Maybe your lodestars are different from mine. That’s fine (even if you’re wrong). But know what they are, and make sure you are working toward them in your writing. You’ll be a stronger and more persuasive columnist, and probably a better citizen, too.
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