Member Ship By Amanda Beam Membership Chair National Society of Newspaper Columnists ‘Tis the season for renewal. Spiritual renewal. Mental renewal. Even a bit of physical renewal, especially after eating all those pies and candies and carbs at those Thanksgiving meals. Why not resolve to add another renewal to your list, one that will only…
Category: Newsletter
Selected articles from the NSNC newsletter; only members get the entire contents of the monthly newsletter
NSNC Couldn’t Honor Molly Ivins, Could It?
Lifetime Achievers This is the second in a series of articles about recipients of the NSNC’s Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award. By Dave Astor Archivist National Society of Newspaper Columnists During her illustrious career, Molly Ivins won the admiration of countless readers, prizes such as the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ 1994 Lifetime Achievement Award,…
Tragedy: The Emotion of Right Now
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 NSNC President It’s the season of peace and goodwill, yet the hot breath of tragedy is fresh — the Paris bombings, the Syrian refugee crisis, and gun violence in America. As readers reach out for news, journalists and columnists are first-responders. Sometimes I don’t know how…
Raising Caen to Prize-Winning Status
Lifetime Achievers This is the first in a series of articles about the winners of the NSNC’s annual Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award, starting with the initial recipient in 1993. By Dave Astor Archivist National Society of Newspaper Columnists Twenty years before National Society of Newspaper Columnists conference attendees visited the Mark Twain House &…
What’s Your Digital IQ Score?
you, the columnist By Dave Lieber Dallas Morning News columnist Take this quick digital skills test and see how well prepared you, the columnist, are to serve your audience as a digital journalist in the 21st century. Ready to begin? Give yourself two points for every YES answer. Do you have your own website? Do…
No Cons, Just Pros for Protégé Program
Member Ship By Amanda Beam Membership Chair National Society of Newspaper Columnists Fire baptizes those of us new to the writing business nowadays. Like risk-taking toddlers, we jump in feet first into the profession without checking if the opportunities float in hot lava or chocolate sauce. Part of the problem stems from a lack of…
Membership Magic – The Other Kind
Member Ship By Amanda Beam NSNC Membership Chair We are you. Hold on a minute. That sounded a little too I’ve-been-eating-special-brownies-in-Denver Zen. Let me explain. Our members create the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Every volunteer on the board, all contributors, each due-paying supporter is this organization. Our existence would cease without your backing. You…
Does Free Writing for HuffPost Make Cents in the End?
The Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 NSNC President Many columnists write for free on The Huffington Post, with the aim of parlaying the exposure into money elsewhere. But does it happen? Many writers have long been angry with HP for not paying its writers, but today is that feeling just as…
In the October Newsletter
The October edition of The Columnist, the monthly newsletter for members of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, is out today, Thursday the first. It features more articles than usual: California Screamin’ — NSNC President Jerry Zezima previews key details of the June 2016 annual conference — in Los Angeles! Does Free Writing for HuffPost…
How’s Your Website?
you, the columnist By Dave Lieber Dallas Morning News columnist As a columnist — a creative entrepreneur who communicates to the public on a regular basis — how is your personal website doing? I mean the one you operate, not the one where your column runs as part of your media company’s website. Everyone should…
Reaching Beyond the Column
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists I was jealous of employed columnists. In comparison, the lot of a freelancer felt difficult, scrapping for the next job, doing “other things” while writing a column. In 2000, employed newspaper columnists were the majority in the NSNC. Now, most…