The lonely columnist

 A diminishing tribe of  Page 10 columnists 10  assiduously  cater to select readers who  wish  to firm up on an opinion or strive to upgrade  their ken on matters of larger concerns .An ideal journalist is one who stays as close to the middle of a black and white divide only indicating the trend of a swing  to either zone and  rarely seen to  push his arguments to  extremes.  He is the  amicus curiae  placing  facts evenly  with an intention to illuminate across a gamut of perceptions,yet  leaving  the prerogative of a conclusion to the reader. In this era of Twitter where within minutes of an event people reach widely varying judgments   and even pass instant verdicts ,  the task of the columnist is arduous and at a risk of  sounding contrarian, most of the time.Precisely why such men are vital to an informed democracy.

Pub --Fin Express Jun 23