Contest submissions now open! We are accepting entries from columnists, bloggers, and serial essayists for our 2026 Annual Columnist Contest (for work published in 2025). We will accept entries from columnists, bloggers, and serial essayists published in 2025. Everyone is welcome to submit. You don’t have to be an NSNC member.
We’re counting down to #SunshineWeek 2026, March 15-21. Together, we champion #OpenRecords and #OpenGovernment nationwide March 15-21. #FOIA #transparency. Free resources: sunshineweek.org
The National Society of Newspaper Columnists Education Foundation is a tax-exempt charitable organization [501(c)3] devoted to the education and training of new and experienced columnists everywhere. Donate here: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/NSNCEdFnd
We are excited for What’s in-store for NSNC members this year. We are gearing up to launch the NSNC Annual Columnist Contest on January 15, so you’ll want to be sure your membership is up-to-date. Also, if you have ideas, suggestions, etc., please share them with our President Meredith Cummings at meredithcummings@gmail.com or Executive Director Ginny McCabe at nsncdirector@gmail.com. Thank you for your support of NSNC!
By Mike Argento, NSNC President I was reading a New York Times story about a $7 million libel verdict in a case filed by a judge and former Chicago Bear kicker against a newspaper columnist in Illinois when I stumbled upon a stunning passage. The story said, “The newspaper’s lawyers said they were handicapped because…
By Dave Lieber Fort Worth Star-Telegram Columnist Secretary, National Society of Newspaper Columnists Education Foundation The master returned. Jimmy Breslin, who has written two or three newspaper columns this year following his surprise retirement last year, was stirred to pen a brief memoir about the shooting death of Robert F. Kennedy. After he viewed the…
Ethical Conflicts and Credibility By Mike Argento So it’s happened again. News breaks that, once again, journalists are accepting money from the government. One is a nationally syndicated columnist, paid a C-note every time she appeared on a Voice of America radio show. And as I sit here, nobody has offered me cash for anything.…
By Dave Lieber Fort Worth Star-Telegram Columnist During the summer, I celebrated an epiphany in regards to my column-writing life. I say celebrated because an epiphany – a sudden insight that changes the way you view the world – is something every columnist needs at least once a decade. If we are the same columnist…
Latest roundup of columnists’ foibles, triumphs, embarrassments and other weirdness By Dave Lieber Fort Worth Star-Telegram Columnist Special to www.columnists.com I apologize. When was the last time you started a column with those words? Actually, I’m not apologizing for anything. I just want to get your attention. But the first part of this month’s Really…
By DAVE LIEBER Fort Worth Star-Telegram Columnist NSNC Education Foundation Secretary Here are the Really Bad Column Rules to be a Great Columnist. If you don’t like any of them, write and tell me why so I can argue with you in the next installment. If I don’t hear back from anyone, I’ll take that…
NSNC member Paul Lander’s new video, “54321: Five Rejected Peanuts Specials,” is a fast, funny parody poking fun at those classic Peanuts holiday specials. It’s one installment in a growing humor series ‘54321,’ Paul co-wrote, executive produced, co-created with filmmaker Matthew Clark. Watch here Lander’s new video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn5vf2M8Ls0
We’re counting down to #SunshineWeek 2026, March 15-21. Together, we champion #OpenRecords and #OpenGovernment nationwide March 15-21. #FOIA #transparency. Free resources: sunshineweek.org
NSNC 2026 Columnist Contest Read the Rules, Select Your Category, and Enter HERE Beginning on January 15, 2026, we are accepting entries from columnists, bloggers, and serial essayists for our Annual Columnist Contest (for work published in 2025). Enter here. We are accepting entries from columnists, bloggers, and serial essayists published in 2025. Everyone is welcome to…
The National Society of Newspaper Columnists 2026 Annual Columnist Contest is open and accepting entries through April 17. “We are accepting entries from columnists, bloggers, and serial essayists for work published in 2025. Everyone is welcome to submit. You don’t have to be an NSNC member to enter. However, you can save on entry fees by…
Join NSNC and Google at 7 p.m. EST on Jan. 21 for an “AI Tools for News” webinar. Topic: AI Tools for News Description: Whether it’s helping reporters sort through thousands of documents, or enabling people to access information in their own language, AI opens up new opportunities that could significantly improve billions of lives. Google’s mission…
