Category: Newsroom

Articles from the current news on media, journalism, the news industry and other topics.

In Support of Cincinnati

The NSNC visited Cincinnati, Ohio for the 2018 annual conference. We had the honor of getting to know some of the columnists of the Cincinnati Enquirer. They joined us as colleagues and together we celebrated the accomplishments of award-winning columnists as well as discussed some of the challenges we face in today’s industry. Unfortunately yesterday…

Survey Shows Members Zestfully Agree Cincinnati Conference a Major Success

NSNC Shuffles Off to Buffalo in 2019 Riding Huge Wave of Enthusiasm President’s Message By Chris Carosa NSNC President No sooner had the last bit of swag been packed up from our sold-out June 7-10 Cincinnati Conference then your tireless leadership issued forth a survey asking attendees what they liked most and what they would…

Mike Leonard, NSNC 2018 Legacy Award Recipient

By Suzette Standring NSNC Executive Director No one does it better than Mike Leonard, the longest-serving member of the NSNC. For selfless leadership over the past 33 years, he receives the 2018 NSNC Legacy Award. And he started just like you. In 1985, Mike wrote his first general-interest column with the daily Herald-Times in Bloomington,…

Nick Clooney: Things I Thought I Knew, and Other Reflections

On June 9, 2018, as people applauded Nick Clooney’s wonderful speech, NSNC member Rick Horowitz sprang into action. Rick asked me, “Any way we can ask Nick for his speech notes?” It hadn’t occurred to me that Nick Clooney had his entire speech written down on the yellow notepad in front of him. Bullet points, sure. But…

Announcing National Ernie Pyle Day Celebration

Bloomington, IN —The Ernie Pyle Legacy Foundation created National Ernie Pyle Day and the United States Senate agreed to a resolution proposed by Indiana Senators Todd Young and Joe Donnelly designating August 3, 2018 as National Ernie Pyle Day.  To commemorate this day the Ernie Pyle Legacy Foundation has organized a celebration that will take…

NSNC Statement on Capital Gazette shooting

Fellow Columnists: The National Society of Newspaper Columnists wishes to express its heartfelt sympathies and condolences to all those touched by yesterday’s tragic events in Annapolis. We continue to recognize the uncommon bravery exhibited by columnists and all journalists who regularly place their names on articles, columns, and mastheads for all to see. The tragic…

Sitting Duck Award for 2018

President Trump’s win streak ends at three, as Scott Pruitt steals the Sitting Duck Award – or rather most likely will ask his staff to pick it up for him. Pruitt is the 2018 winner of the Sitting Duck Award, presented annually by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists to the news figure who is…

NSNC Column Writing Contest 2018 – Judges’ Comments

Thank you to our awesome judges! Here are there comments for our 2018 winners. General interest category over 50,000   First Place Mike Newall The best Metro columnists can write about anything and find the angle that makes the subject soar.  Philadelphia Inquirer’s Mike Newall is as good as it gets with that. Example: His…

2018 NSNC Column Writing Contest Winners

Congratulations to our Winners! Find the recording of the entire Awards Ceremony on YouTube: I you are interested in reading the judges comments you can find those HERE. Also, Thank you to our wonderful panel of judges.   And the winners are… CATEGORY A: General Interest, Print publications over 50,000 circulation   First Place:  Mike…

Rochelle Riley’s NSNC Ties Span Two Decades

By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist Detroit Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley has a long and varied history with the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. When Riley worked for the Louisville (Ky.) Courier Journal two decades ago, she was asked by fellow CJ writer and NSNC co-founder Bob Hill to help Hill plan our organization’s 1999…

2018 Will Rogers Humanitarian Award Recipient Named

By Robert L. Haught An Oklahoma writer who turned the spotlight on charitable activities in her community has been selected to receive this year’s Will Rogers Humanitarian Award. Ginnie Graham of the Tulsa World will be presented the award on Friday, June 8, at the annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists in…

Keynote Speaker José Antonio Vargas Exemplifies the Power of Narrative

By Suzette Martinez Standring NSNC Executive Director Putting a human face to a controversial issue is more difficult when that face is your own.  NSNC keynote speaker José Antonio Vargas, founder of Define American, will share his story and the power of narrative at the NSNC’s Will Rogers Humanitarian Award banquet on Friday, June 8,…

Prominent Man from Prominent Family to Speak in Cincinnati

By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist “Fame is relative. Only my relatives are famous,” Nick Clooney quipped when I interviewed him for this story. But that’s a bit of self-deprecation, because the father of actor/director George Clooney and brother of late singer/actress Rosemary Clooney has been – among other things – a well-known TV news director/anchor,…

Pyle and Pulitzer Winner Will Return to the NSNC Stage

By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist The last time Clarence Page spoke at a National Society of Newspaper Columnists conference, the syndicated Chicago Tribune writer was honored with our 2007 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award in Philadelphia. This year, Page will return as a June 9 keynoter at the 2018 NSNC conference in Cincinnati – not…

Uncommonly Forged Partnership Honors Chronicler of ‘the Common Man’

Ernie Pyle is at center. Photo courtesy Ernie Pyle Legacy Foundation

By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President There was once a folksy columnist and distinguished wartime chronicler who left such an indelible mark on journalism that NSNC gives its most prestigious award in his name, and celebrates National Columnists Day in his honor. That journalist was Ernie Pyle, and today NSNC is proud to announce a…

Looking for Humanitarian Writers

By Robert Haught Hurricanes, floods, forest fires, and other tragic events have struck several parts of the country this past year. If your community suffered a natural disaster, did local news media get involved in coming to the aid of victims, during and after the event? Was there an individual columnist or other writer who…

Vice President Mike Morin Resigns

By Suzette Martinez Standring, NSNC Executive Director After a successful, active time on the NSNC board, Mike Morin has resigned as vice president for personal reasons. “Barb, my partner of over a decade, has had Type I diabetes for 40 years. The resulting health issues for her now include heart disease and other significant collateral…