Introducing Our New Executive Director

By Cassie McClure
NSNC 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, a freelancer who writes at home.

I knew that what I wrote was shared, especially among my friends, as a solid verdict, but I didn’t know the entire weight of my words. My editor expressed that I should more closely consider that weight, and its tangible effect on a business. Admittedly, it wasn’t something I had considered before, particularly when I wrote about a day’s lackluster salsa.

My editor then also asked me to lunch.

Their youth columnist – who started writing in the paper in her teens – was now heading to college. He was eyeing me as the newest youth. [Thanks?] I had only the faintest idea of what I agreed to when I started writing a column. I realized quickly that deadline terror for a routine article assignment is vastly different than the deadline terror of a column.  

Column writing reminds me of that restaurant. Some days the salsa is watery and doesn’t hit the mark. Other days, the salsa is chunky, with an appropriate heat for your palate. And, even with a perceived day’s success, someone will come in, read your column, and bristle against the spice that you bring to the table.  

Joining the National Society of Newspaper Columnists as a member, it has been inspiring to see the different written flavors represented. As its newest executive director, I am humbled and honored to help carry on its legacy. The NSNC is filled with writers, journalists, new media creators, who every day select fresh ingredients and measure the weight of their words for their readers.   

Whether you run your commentary in The New York Times or a blog that caters to your friends and family, there is an inherent vulnerability with expressing your opinion that most others will not understand. And yet, here at NSNC, we create a place for you. Here, you’ll find others who sit, like you, regularly in front of a blank screen or page and make words weave power. 

I join a stellar team that includes the enthusiastic and caring board members, and the beloved outgoing executive director Suzette Martinez Standring, whom the NSNC has been lucky to have for her enthusiasm, dedication, and take-no-prisoners approach as the organization’s advocate. She has no match. I have big shoes to fill, but fortunately for me, Suzette is staying involved, so I’m getting coached with the full-throated cheerleading that only she can do.

Some fantastic ideas are stewing behind the scenes that aim to make this an even more valuable place for you. If you’re not already joining us for Zoom Writing Sessions on Wednesdays and Sundays, get in touch for the link. We’re aiming to have more webinars cooked up directly for the needs of writers like us. And, of course, we’re debating a conference trip to Alabama next year. 

You now know more about me, and until we can meet in person and share chips and salsa, I invite you to share a seat at our communal table via email to let me know how to serve our organization best. 

Sincerely,
Cassie McClure
NSNC Executive Director
Columnist, Creators.com, “My So-Called Millennial Life”