The National Society of Newspaper Columnists was founded in 1977 and exists to promote professionalism and camaraderie among North American newspaper columnists. Membership is open to general interest, humor, op-ed, online, or other newspaper columnists. Academics and student columnists also are eligible to join. The annual conference is NSNC's primary event. The group also publishes a monthly newsletter, maintains this website and advocates for columnists and free-press issues. New members are welcome - please join us!
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'Editor & Publisher' ceases publication
Editor & Publisher, considered the foremost source for coverage of the newspaper industry and journalism, is ceasing publication, both print and online, after 125 years of publication. The announcement was made on December 10th by the parent company. The Nielsen Co. made a deal with e5 Global Media Holdings for the sale of eight of its holdings, but E&P was not part of the agreement.
Members of NSNC were shocked at the announcement in spite of the downsizing of E&P staff in the recent past . The news made the home page of The New York Times, was reported in The Washington Post, the Associated Press, and in other leading papers and news outlets.
Hundreds of websites and blogs carried the word and Editor & Publisher hit No. 4 as a Twitter topic as expressions of surprise hit the web. Staff members have been flooded with calls and emails from members of the industry it covers. Editor Greg Mitchell expressed shock and retains hope that someone will step forward so the magazine can continue in some form.
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The Revolution in Social Media
Is social media a fad or a fundamental shift in the way we communicate? Social media facts and figures from a 'YouTube' presentation by Socialnomics09 are hard to ignore.
Social media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the web.
If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest.
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world with >100,000,000 videos.
There are over 200,000.000 blogs -- 54% of bloggers post content or tweet daily.
Winkipedia has over 13 million articles
24 of 25 of the largest newspapers are experiencing record declines in circulation.
Now is a good time to get important 2010 dates on your calendar, beginning with payment of your annual dues. You should have received a postcard reminder asking you to please renew by December 31. Early payments will help the NSNC's board and executive director get a handle on the financial outlook for the coming year.
The annual column writing contest kicks off January 1. The deadline for entering is normally March 15, but double check the date on the entry forms.
Make sure you have the correct dates for the 2010 conference in Bloomington, Ind. - July 8-11. The original schedule was June 3-6, earlier than usual. But as conference chair Mike Leonard announced in the July newsletter, "The meeting rooms and facilities that had been offered us for an early June, 2010 conference weren't what we wanted, and the spaces we culd get for a July 8-11 conference were just right." That's later than usual, but perhaps a better time for a family vacation.
Read The Columnist the first of each month and check the NSNC Web site www.columnists.com regularly for information and updates on all NSNC activities.
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Increase your search rankings/readership with simple videos
Dave Lieber tells us how to increase net exposure and build interest with video.
There's one tactic you, the columnist, can use to launch your rankings higher with next to no effort or expense.
That's with video.
Here's the basis for this argument to build your following: If you shoot a short 1-minute video, a quickie, that teases your column or your blog post and is embedded in the actual blog post as a click-on video, you can get more hits. Certainly, a lot more than the post or column would attract without an accompanying video.
Here's how:
NSNC Members to Speak at Bombeck Writers' Workshop
Registration is open for the 2010 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop. It will be held April 15-17 on the campus of the University of Dayton at Dayton, Ohio, the famous columnist-author's alma mater.
NSNC members make up a sizeable portion of the faculty for the next presentation of one of the most popular workshops in the nation.
Prize-winning columnist and best-selling author Bruce Cameron is one of five keynote speakers. He will speak at the closing dinner on the evening of Saturday, April 17.
Suzette Martinez Standring, author of "The Art of Column Writing", is also scheduled for a workshop presentation. Standring is a past president of the NSNC (2004-2006).
Tracy Beckerman, syndicated columnist and author from New Providence, N.J., will talk on "Syndication Isn't Dead, It's Just Taking a Nap."
Andrea Langworthy's workshop topic is "Finding, Entering and Improving Your Odds of Winning Writing Contests." Langworthy is a Minnesota columnist and writing instructor.
Jerry Zezima, whose column for the Stamford Advocate in Connecticut is nationally syndicated, will give advice on "How to Write Humor: A Subject I Know Absolutely Nothing About But Have Somehow Managed to Make More Than Minimum Wage Doing."
The Council of National Journalism Organizations, of which NSNC is a member, has tentatively scheduled its next meeting for February 19-20, 2010 at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Attendees will gather at Poynter for dinner Friday evening, February 19, and meet during the day Saturday, February 20, said council chair Mark Mittelstadt, executive director, Associated Press Managing Editors.
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Surprising Bloomington Charms Los Angeles Columnist
Thinking about the 2010 Bloomington Conference -- now scheduled for July 8-10 instead of for June? Check out the terrific travel article by syndicated columnist, Erica Zeitlan from LA, on the Sand Diego News Network. Visiting Bloomington for a family gathering, Erica anticipated only cows and cornfields in the heartland of America, but was amazed by all the town had to offer.
What she found was a charming college town full of surprises. “It’s a socially liberal, politically progressive, ethnically diverse, quintessential college town…” she gushed.
Hey, isn’t this exactly what our Conference Chairman, Mike Leonard, has been telling us? Now here is someone else without an agenda who is saying the same thing.
It’s the home of Indiana University, a dream location for music lovers due to its acclaimed music school, according to Zeitlan. “The sheer size of the stage at IU’s Musical Arts Center is staggering.” She forgot to mention that it is also has a famous journalism school and that our hero, Ernie Pyle, went there, which greatly excites a bunch of keyboard pounding columnists like us.
Bloomington is also the home of the Kinsey Institute, famous for its research in human sexuality – not to mention the erotic art exhibitions. Now that alone could be reason for some of our more liberal-minded members to attend. For the sports enthusiasts, add the fact that Indiana University is a member of the Big Ten Conference and hosts the amateur bicycle contest featured in the movie “Breaking Away”, still worth a ticket after 30 years.
“There’s something here for all ages, mindsets, and walks of life,” says Zeitlan.
Visit the Tibetan Cultural Center, fine arts stores, dozens of eateries in downtown Bloomington, and even family attractions, such as the Wonder Lab Museum, she suggests.
Is NSNC clever for picking Indian University at Blooming for our next conference, or what? Changing the schedule to July will permit us to take full advantage of conference space available at that time only. Be sure to read the entire article by Erica Zeitlan for more information and surprising reasons to visit Indiana.
Read the columnswritten about the Ventura Conference.
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THANKS TO OUR 2009 VENTURA CONFERENCE SPONSORS
Western States Petroleum Association
Limoneira Company
Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau
Southwest Airlines
Crown Plaza Hotels & Resorts
VC Reporter
Will Rogers Memorial & Birthplace
National Society of Newspaper Columnists
P.O. Box 411532
San Francisco, CA 94141
Phone: toll free (866) 440-NSNC (6762) / Fax: toll free (866) 635-5759
Now is a good time to get important 2010 dates on your calendar, beginning with payment of your annual dues. You should have received a postcard reminder asking you to please renew by December 31. Early payments will help the NSNC's board and executive director get a handle on the financial outlook for the coming year.
Dave Lieber tells us how to increase net exposure and build interest with video.
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