An advice column is a column in a magazine or newspaper written by an advice columnist (colloquially known in British English as an agony aunt, or agony uncle if the columnist is a male). The image presented was originally of an older woman providing comforting advice and maternal wisdom, hence the name "aunt". An advice columnist can also be someone who gives advice to people who send in problems to the newspaper.
An advice columnist answers readers' queries on personal problems. Sometimes the author is in fact a composite or a team: Marjorie Proops's name appeared (with photo) long after she retired. The nominal writer may be a pseudonym, or in effect a brand name; the accompanying picture may bear little resemblance to the actual author.
The term is beginning to fall into disuse, as the scope of personal advice has broadened, to include sexual matters — pioneered by the likes of Dr. Ruth — as well as general lifestyle issues.
Read more about Advice Column: Examples of Advice Columnists, Typical Format, Advice Columns On The Internet, Ethical Issues, Related Fiction
Famous quotes containing the words advice and/or column:
“I think that parents ought to get some idea of how the so- called “experts” have changed their advice over the decades, so that they won’t take them deadly seriously, and so that if the parent has the strong feeling, “I don’t like this advice,” the parent won’t feel compelled to follow it. . . . So don’t worry about trying to do a perfect job. There is no perfect job. There is no one way of raising your children.”
—Benjamin Spock (b. 1903)
“The actor who lets the dust accumulate on his Ibsen, his Shakspere [sic], and his Bible, but pores greedily over every little column of theatrical news, is a lost soul.”
—Minnie Maddern Fiske (1865–1932)