Samantha Bennett
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Hello, NSNC. I’m Samantha Bennett, and I write a weekly humor column for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Having been your membership chair and vice president, I’m now your president for the next two years. I ran on the strength of my cartwheeling prowess — but let me tell you a little more about whom you’ve elected.
My plans for my term in office are simple: As soon as I can get the private jet away from Mike Argento, I’m going to retire to an undisclosed secure location and order a pre-emptive strike on columnists overseas.
Nah.
What I’d really like to see in the next two years is more publicity for the organization and more contact among members between annual conferences. We’ve gotten cozy with the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop to good effect, and maybe we should be seeing other people, like the cartoonists, editorial writers and ethnic journalism organizations. I don’t need to tell you that our business is under fire and shrinking fast right now, so we’d be wise to circle the wagons to share resources, ideas and the occasional kumbaya. I’d also like to focus on reminding members, the industry and the public who we are, what we do and why we matter.
Most of all, I hope that whether or not you’ve ever been to a conference, whether or not you’ve met me or any of our other excellent board members, you’ll feel connected to NSNC and more than welcome to speak up, write in, contribute, get involved. Don’t be shy. This is your organization, so don’t wait for me to tell you what’s what. You already know, don’t you? You’re a columnist!
7/1/08
