Selected articles from the NSNC newsletter; only members get the entire contents of the monthly newsletter
by Daniela Gitlin, MD “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” – GK Chesterton My mother, a perfectionist, believes perfection is excellence. And—this is important—if you’re not suffering, you’re slacking. For my growing up and training years, I bought that. But aging and real life—taking care of patients, writing, cooking, parenting—have taught me to pursue…
by Tony Norman, NSNC President This is the second of two interviews with NSNC members who began as columnists, but now find themselves balancing their personal voices with the responsibility of keeping a balanced opinion page at their respective publications. Last month, Bonnie Jean Feldkamp, the Opinion Editor of The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky talked…
by Adam Earnheardt, NSNC Interim Executive Director Forward. It’s that simple. Move forward. Look forward. It amazes me how that one word—Forward—can simultaneously conjure feelings of anticipation, hopefulness, and enthusiasm. It’s hard not to want to look forward these days. Even when you italicize the word Forward, it just looks cool. Speak of 2020 or…
by Tony Norman, NSNC President If there’s anyone in the NSNC who doesn’t need an introduction, it’s Bonnie Jean Feldkamp. Anyone who has been around this organization a few years knows that she’s a high-energy burst of ball lightning. When Bonnie was the NSNC’s former media and public relations czarina and newsletter editor, she pushed…
by Daniela Gitlin, MD The NSNC conference is scheduled to happen live June 9-12, 2022 at the Doubletree by Hilton, Birmingham Perimeter Park in Alabama. You, like me, might be of two minds about attending. You might have various COVID-related concerns. But also, you might really, really want to go. Do you crave contact, with real people, in real-time,…
by Tony Norman, NSNC President Two weeks ago, I attended a relatively sparse screening of “The Matrix: Resurrections” at a multiplex at a nearby mall. Like the character Neo played by Keanu Reeves in four installments spanning two decades, I experienced bouts of déjà vu while sitting in the dark watching the movie run through its paces.…
by John Branning 2021 is done – it won’t be called the greatest year.Covid we could not outrun, with Omicron the latest fear. Sports went on despite the risk; tried protocols to make it safe.Jeffrey Epstein’s odalisque got jail time for procuring naifs. Trump impeached a second time, because of insurrectionists.NFTs arrive and I’m confused:…
by Tony Norman, NSNC President You could be forgiven for believing that in the final weeks of November, everything was going to Hell. Speaking strictly for myself, I’ve had to consciously fight off a nagging weariness when sitting down to write my column.What’s the point of cleverly turning phrases or even penetrating insights when folks…
By Suzette Martinez Standring, Founder Silent group writing works! Last year on November 4, the NSNC Writing Space launched, and, twice a week, members Zoom in to write together. We meet every Wednesday for two hours, and every Sunday for one hour. Sometimes we stay longer. There are no questions, discussion, or workshopping. The hour…
The winner of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ 2022 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award is…Mary C. Curtis.
Michael Wolff is the author of three national bestsellers on the Trump administration: “Fire and Fury,” “Siege,” and his latest, “Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency.”
Michael Paul Williams is one of those columnists who makes other columnists exhale after reading him: “So, that’s how it’s done,” we sigh.
Below you’ll not only find the winners but the winner’s winning columns.
By Cassie McClureNSNC Executive Director You can blame bad salsa. I do. That’s how my column-writing history started. I had already been doing food reviews steadily for a few years when a perturbed restaurant owner came into the newsroom to complain about my commentary on his watery salsa. Unfortunately for him, I was, and am,…
Curtis HoneycuttNSNC Treasurer and Conference Committee I can’t begin to explain how much the NSNC has meant to me over the past three years. I met many of you word warriors in Cincinnati in 2018, back when it was possible to rub shoulders with other humans. In 2019, many of us spent a weekend in…
By Rebecca RegnierNSNC Member There’s no question social media can be confusing. Just when you figure out one platform, it changes, or another emerges. Should I be on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat? The landscape is littered with the bodies of dead social media platforms. Watch out. You just stepped in a pile of MySpace! But the…
