Selected articles from the NSNC newsletter; only members get the entire contents of the monthly newsletter
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…
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 &…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists In this season of thanksgiving, so called because it’s the season in which we celebrate Thanksgiving, I would like to thank Art Buchwald for inspiring me to go into journalism and write a humor column, which has spared me the shame of getting a…
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…
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…
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…
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…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists It’s October, the month that ends with Halloween, so I’ll begin this message with both a trick and a treat by saying that I have great news about the 2016 NSNC conference, which will be held June 23-26 in Los Angeles: We are not,…
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…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists There is a lot to like about Will Rogers, who was a lot more than the man who never met a man he didn’t like. Born in Indian Territory (now Oologah, Oklahoma) in 1879, Rogers — part Cherokee, part cowboy, all American — was…
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…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists I barged into Spielberg’s office at DreamWorks, blew past his secretary, who was sharpening a pencil, and plopped myself down in the plush chair in front of his desk. “You owe me a big one, Steven,” I blurted. “How so, Zez?” responded Spielberg, who…
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…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists I had a beer with Miss Manners. Never did I think I would write that sentence. But now, with great pride and, finally, a clear head, I can say that I did, indeed, clink glasses with Judith Martin, the aforementioned empress of etiquette, even…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists There are aspects aplenty to controversy. When tackling fifty shades of truth, being “gray” doesn’t grow a readership. Yet life is never black and white. Family. Politics. Feminism. Race. Religion. How best to take a decisive stand on polarizing topics? It’s…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists In A Christmas Story, the 1983 holiday film classic that was co-written and narrated by Indiana humorist Jean Shepherd, little Ralphie Parker wants nothing more than a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. His efforts are initially thwarted by his mother, his teacher and…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists “You had the ability,” a U.S. Marine sergeant once told Pvt. Art Buchwald, “to screw up a two-car funeral. Anything you touched ceased to function.” No, Ernie Pyle wasn’t the only newspaper columnist to serve in World War II. Buchwald, whose drill instructor, Cpl.…
