Writing a column can get you in a lot more trouble than writing an editorial.
    That's because your name, and usually your picture, are attached to your column. Everyone can see - or at least that's the idea - that you and you alone are responsible for the opinions expressed in a column.
    An editorial, on the other hand, is anonymous. It is written, in spirit at least, by the entire editorial board of the newspaper and represents the newspaper's opinion, but not specifically the writer's.
    In a way, a column, whether syndicated (sold by a syndicate to many newspapers) or local (written by someone who works for the newspaper), "belongs" to the writer. In it, he or she can express thoughts about a politician, an organization such as the Utah Legislature, an event or a trend. The writer can even tell readers about her personal life, though that isn't often what an editorial-page columnist does. However, columnists can use personal experience to help illustrate their points.
    In the Sunday Opinion section, we also run what are called op-ed pieces (named for the daily page "opposite" the editorial page). Like staff columns, they usually represent a personal opinion. Unlike staff columns, however, they generally are not written by someone whose writing appears regularly in the newspaper. Often they are detailed replies to Tribune editorials, or the perspective of a local person or an institution
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that has a dog in some fight. Op-ed pieces, at about 800 words, are longer than letters to the editor and the writer generally has some particular vantage or expertise that can lend weight to the point of view being expressed.
    For years I wrote a column that ran weekly on the op-ed page of a newspaper. Later, I wrote a column that ran on the sports pages. I often heard from readers who thought I was A) inspired (if they agreed with me) or B) an idiot (when they didn't).
    Once I was called racist by a woman who took offense when I mentioned that former Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone had great natural abilities. Why hadn't I said the same about John Stockton? (Actually, I had.) I don't think I succeeded, in an extensive e-mail conversation, in convincing her that I wasn't attributing Karl's success to his racial "differences."
    As the only woman on two newspaper editorial boards at different times, I have tried to represent what I feel might be women's opinions about issues. I've found, though, that men agree with me as often as do women, and that women sometimes take more issue with feminist views than men do.
    Over time, readers form something like a personal relationship with a newspaper's regular columnists. When you open your daily newspaper, it's akin to talking over politics with family members over breakfast.
    Sometimes you agree, sometimes you don't, but it's generally a lively discussion.