Chapter two summary

An editorialist has to know what they are talking about and who they are talking to. To do this, writers should develop a field of expertise--such as technology, sports writing or local politics and write to a specific audience.

The audience is the writer's primary concern. If no one reads the column, then it is wasted space on newsprint. The editorial board's job is to know who their audience is by analyzing them demographically and psycho-graphically.

Demographic groups of people are divided by factors such as age, race, location and income. Psycho-graphic groups are divided among those with common interests such as hobbies, political alignments and religions.

Editorialists pick a target audience which they can reach through their medium, then write about current issues which affect them. 

The sun exploding in one billion years will interest no one alive today, but the county raising property taxes will. It is important to remember that the best way to find the issues that people are interested in is to walk and talk with people within the local community.