Advice column
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An advice column is a type of newspaper column that offers advice to readers. The columnist who offers advice is colloquially known as an agony aunt.
[edit] Content
An advice columnist addresses readers' problems in a wide variety of areas.
Columnists such as "Dear Abby", or her sister, "Ann Landers", cover the entire gamut of topics. Others specialize in certain areas, such as "Dear Heloise", well-known for her household tips.
The "reader/question" genre has spread to nearly every type of periodical publication, including Internet publications, with most major writers/teams having their own sites or spaces in magazine and newspaper type websites. New web-based columns have also appeared.
[edit] Typical format
Questions are most often asked 'anonymously', with the signature assuming the problem that is being expressed. For example, someone who is asking about erratic behavior in their partner may sign their letter "Confused, Johannesburg".
On the Internet, a greater variation on the signature theme is often seen. The person's signature may refer to the problem being expressed, but rather in a phrase, which the 'agony aunt' abbreviates so as to spell an appropriate word. For instance, "Confused About My Partner" would become "CAMP". 'Dan Savage' uses this method to comic effect in his Savage Love column.
[edit] External links
- Ask GirlShrink
- Ask John Q - The online virtual advice column by the public.
- Dear Abby
- Sense & Sensitivity
- Spill To Jill Free Advice
