Chicago Sun-Times journalist Kara Spak struck it big on the TV Game Show Jeopardy with winnings after six appearances totaling $85.401. On her sixth day, Spak lost after a meek Daily Double wager, and a few bad responses. Still her final earnings were not bad for a day of taping shows. Spak says she was nervous…
People Spending Half Their Day With Media
Do you find yourself spending a lot of time with your web-enabled smartphone? You are not alone. A study cited in an article by Brent Lang for TheWrap.com found that people spend more than half their day consuming media. Bruce Friend, president of Ipsos OTX MediaCT, the business that conducted the study of 7,000 online consumers,…
Astor’s Weird Post
Strandring Authors New Book
Suzette Martinez Standring, a popular workshop leader at the Oklahoma City meeting, has announced a new book project. “The Height of Power: Petite Women Speak of Stature” is about women, 5′ 3″ and under, who successfully navigate the world at armpit level. Standring said she captured the spirit of the book in an essay which…
Will Rogers Remembered in Varied Tributes
In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the deaths of Will Rogers and Wiley Post in an Alaskan plane crash, observances were held at four widely scattered sites on August 15. More than 60 pilots and over 1,000 spectators participated in the annual fly-in at the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch at Oologah, Okla. Steve Gragert,…
Education Foundation Report
The news that comes out of our annual foundation meeting is that the foundation board voted to call for the revival of the legendary silent and live auction in Detroit to buff up our $$$. Secondary news is the board is very appreciative of Dr. Russell Frank for continuing the great tradition set by Joe…
Ellen Goodman to speak at University of Dayton
Pulitzer Prize winning columnist, author and speaker Ellen Goodman will be at the University of Dayton on Wednesday, September 29th, to talk about the role of news media and opinion-journalism in productive public discourse. The talk is free and open to the public. Goodman has spent most of her life chronicling social change and its…
How iPad Will Affect Journalism
A new survey to answer the question, “What will the widespread adoption of the iPad mean for the journalism industry?” has been introduced by Digital Publishing and the Reynolds Journalism Institute. Sales of the Apple iPad are expected to exceed those of PC in 2011. In spite of the tremendous number of iPads sold, there…
Newspapers see large increase in video traffic
Online viewing of newspaper video is up – 65% higher than in the same quarter last year according to a new research report “Online Video and Media Research”. The increase is attributed to audience interest in watching news about the Gulf oil spill. With a live feed supplied by BP, thousands of viewers tuned in…
New York Times to go out of print
At a recent International Newsroom Summit Conference, the New York Times publisher and chairman Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. stated that he eventually expects the NYT will no longer be in print, acknowledging a fact that has become obvious to media watchers. “We will stop printing the New York Times sometime in the future, date TBD,” Sulzberger…
Iraq War Deadliest for Media since WWII
The war in Iraq has been the most deadly conflict for journalists since World War II, with 230 murdered since the US invasion March 2003 during seven years of occupation by the coalition forces, according to the press freedom group called Reporter without Borders. This is more than were killed during the entire Vietnam War,…
Get Your Official NSNC T-Shirt
The official NSNC T-Shirt allows you to identify with the other members of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, and to proudly display your colors. In this case the colors are black with a bright dash of yellow lettering. (Yes, we know the unfortunate association “yellow” has with “journalism,” but the color combo is cool…
9/11 – A Memorial
Many NSNC members have written columns for the ninth anniversary of the coordinated series of terrorist attacks that took place September 11, 2001, in New York City, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania. * * * John Messeder – Gettysburg Times – “Recalling 9-11, all of it” John writes: “… I was crossing Baltimore Street, heading into…
Updates to NSNC Website
President Obama Writes Column
President Barack Obama wrote an exclusive column for impreMedia’s Spanish-language digital and print newspapers, Editor and Publisher reported September 8th. And he will give a one-on-one interview to the group’s Washington correspondent, Antonieta Cádiz. This signals the importance that the Hispanic community has within the US, according to impreMedia’s press release. The interview covers a…
Education Foundation meets Sunday
The annual meeting of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists Education Foundation, will be held on Sunday, September 19, 2010, as required by IRS law regulating non-profit organizations. President Jim Casto, Vice President Eric Heyl, Secretary Dave Lieber, Treasurer Joe Blundo and Assistant Secretary/Treasurer Dr. Amy Reynolds will begin the first year of a two year-term…