Glow-in-the-Dark Cup Collection · Looking Around

Author: Huang Aixi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: If judged by timeliness, this collection of columns should have been published earlier. During the time I wrote these columns, I worked at a newspaper under the Nanfang Daily Press Group, collaborating with a group of colleagues on a weekly publication. Looking back now, that period was quite enjoyable. From the perspective of daily work in the newspaper and magazine industry, columnists are not rare; they interact with them almost every day or at least every week. Even when colleagues gather for meals, aside from their primary jobs, they are all writing columns. Of course, from another angle, excellent columnists are always cherished by editors and readers. Speaking of this seems a bit chaotic—I don’t seem to be good at speaking so formally. Let me put it this way: over the past N years, I’ve stayed at this newspaper, surrounded by groups of reporters and editors, and groups of columnists. My official job is an editor, with a part-time role as a columnist. And I’ve always believed that my official job is better than my part-time one, though it seems others don’t see it that way. They all think I’m a freelancer, which has left me rather unfairly shouting, "I’m part of an organization too!"
Additionally, I’ve always thought that my friends and colleagues’ columns are better written than mine. You might say, after writing for N years, you only realized now—isn’t that a bit late? What were you doing all this time?—Regarding this, in fact, I knew long ago. However, I’ve always believed that anyone can write a column. Whether it gets published or not depends on the newspaper and the editor’s judgment and selection. It’s actually quite similar to the wildly popular blogs today—anyone can start one. Many editors now directly solicit contributions from blog writers. And in the end, how many people actually read it has almost become a mystical question. To this day, I’m still a fan of columns. I feel uncomfortable if I don’t browse others’ blogs and columns online every day. Several years ago, I wrote a column titled "Looking East and West" for the Xinmin Evening News, and that kind of restless, curious nature really reflects me.