Category: Articles

Miscellaneous articles.

Now Is the Time for You to Be a Leader

By Dave LieberThe Dallas Morning News City mayors, county leaders, state governors, and presidents are expected to show leadership in times of crisis. But I would argue that now is the time for columnists and bloggers to do the same. We learned after 9/11 what a difference one great column can make for readers. Remember…

Two in Chat Know a Lot About That (Book Contracts)

By Dave AstorNSNC Archivist Lisa Smith Molinari and Lori B. Duff are award-winning columnists/bloggers, authors, attorneys, and NSNC board members who were scheduled to co-host a session on book contracts at our June 11-14, 2020, conference in Tulsa. So, I set up a “live” Facebook Messenger conversation with them to discuss that session, and the…

Doing Your Own Thing

The secret to success in any creative venture, column writing included, is finding your own voice and sharing your unique view of the world.

Value Your Work. Value Your Industry

A rebuttal to James Haught’s article ‘Low-Pay Writing’ By Marianne Willburn NSNC Member A bottle of “Writers’ Tears” Irish whiskey has sat unmolested on my desk since it was given to me ten months ago by a friend at Christmas. Though he handed it over insisting that a garden columnist had no need of such a…

The NSNC’s New Veep Has a Résumé Quite Deep

By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist Tony Norman, a longtime Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist and former NSNC treasurer, is now back on our board as vice president. In this email Q&A from September 17, Tony seriously/humorously/eloquently discusses everything from the NSNC to his unusually varied, multi-award-winning P-G career – including why he left a music beat to…

My ‘Cinderella Story’: Following Leads to Success

By Susan Moore Jordan NSNC Member In the performing arts, we often hear about an overnight success that isn’t really that at all; it generally follows many years of hard work. But we love the glamour of the myth. A few years ago, I heard this from a former private voice student near the end…

Three Things to Consider Before Becoming a Columnist

By Chris Carosa NSNC President In July, shortly after our wildly successful annual conference in Buffalo, Michael Marrer? posted this in our private member-only Columnist Clubhouse Facebook page: CURRENT STATE OF NEW SYNDICATION? Wanting to know in advance if I am engaging in a fool’s errand and/or just beating my head against a wall, given…

Buffalo Speaker Dave Lieber Adds Playwright to His Long Résumé

By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist Dave Lieber will talk about TED at our annual conference, but Amon is also on his mind. When Dave speaks at our Buffalo conference June 22, the Dallas Morning News “Watchdog” columnist will tell attendees what a TED talk is, why they should do one, and how to make that…

2019 Will Rogers Humanitarian Award Recipient

By Robert L. Haught Will Rogers Writers Foundation Retired Military Chaplain Norris Burkes, who writes a syndicated column that offers a hope-filled approach to everyday spirituality, is the recipient of the 2019 Will Rogers Humanitarian Award sponsored by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Jennifer Rogers-Etcheverry, great grand-daughter of Will Rogers, will present the award…

Today is World Press Freedom Day. We support your right to write.

On World Press Freedom Day, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists stands in solidarity with journalists across the globe, particularly those who risk their safety to tell the stories the public needs to know. Targeting of journalists happens here in the United States as well. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 11 journalists have…