TIMES COLUMNS
Don Corrigan is editor-in-chief of the suburban weeklies, Webster-Kirkwood Times and South County Times and Times. Times newspapers first published in 1978. The total press run of the two publications approaches 80,000 and is distributed by news carriers as a free-throw newspaper to homes in the southwest St. Louis County area. Corrigan has written a personal column for the Times since 1992.
Column writing is rewarding, according to Corrigan, because it provides a way to communicate with a readership in a very personal way, and it also elicits reader feedback in letters and e-mails that can be entertaining, informative and educational. Newspapers should provide a venue for community conversation – and columns are a great place to get that conversation started. The column collection book, "Times Columns," provides a good look at Corrigan's work.
Corrigan is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, which sponsors annual conventions for column writers and competitions in the category of column writing. Corrigan has won numerous awards in column writing in the annual Missouri Press Association (MPA) competition. He also has won awards for column writing in the Independent Free Papers of America (IFPA) competitions and from other professional journalism organizations. Here are a few examples of his columns: