By Suzette Martinez Standring Past President, NSNC Can writers learn to be funny? To go from giggles to guffaws, is there a formula? On June 22 in Philadelphia, Dave Barry shared humor writing “secrets” before the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Robert Benchley once wrote, “Defining and analyzing humor is a pastime of humorless…
They love Mark Lane in Florida. The longtime columnist for the Daytona Beach News-Journal drew highly favorable comments about his book, “Sandspurs.” One critic called him “the best thing to come out of Daytona since Bike Week.” Another noted that “he makes us laugh at our own misadventures.” Lane was a featured speaker at…
By Dave Lieber Fort Worth Star-Telegram Columnist Secretary, National Society of Newspaper Columnists Education Foundation www.yankeecowboy.com Listen up! If you write a newspaper column that appears three times a week, once a week or once a month, and that’s all you do related to that work, then you, my friend, are dead in the…
Jerry Davich, Columnist for the Post-Tribune Newspaper of Northwest Indiana, has a new book called “Connections: Everyone Happens for a Reason.” Davich says, “It’s a combination of compiled columns and new material.” It is available now at http://www.connectionsbook.com/ *NOTE: When you click on the Amazon link from our website and buy a book at Amazon, a percentage of the…
How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep By Bruce Weinstein, Ph.D. Forget taking pills or counting sheep. Just make sure you can answer yes to five simple questions. Do you have trouble sleeping? If so, you’re not alone—and the price you pay can be significant. Think about how irritable you can be and how…
By Mike Argento, NSNC President York (PA) Daily Record A couple of episodes ago on “The Wire,” a terrific TV show created by former ink-stained wretch David Simon, there was a scene that may be of particular interest to columnists. To digress, each season of the show has dealt with a different institution that has…
By Dave Lieber www.yankeecowboy.com Fort Worth Star-Telegram Columnist Secretary, National Society of Newspaper Columnists Education Foundation Suzette Martinez Standring underwent a career change in the 1990s, deciding to pursue her dream of becoming a newspaper columnist. She launched a column, joined the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, became a self-syndicator, acquired a base of several papers,…
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Columnist Secretary, National Society of Newspaper Columnists Education Foundation www.yankeecowboy.com By Dave Lieber [Editor’s Note: Dave Lieber’s longstanding “Really Bad Column” is changing its name to “you, the columnist.” In a reflection of changes in our industry, the old title was a mirror image of the author’s own definition of his work,…
By Suzette Martinez Standring Syndicated Columnist, GateHouse News Service A definite purpose, like blinders on a horse, inevitably narrows it’s possessor’s point of view. Robert Frost (1874-1963) Wanted: a strong, personal point of view, emphasis on “personal.” No other form of journalism but column writing allows the writer’s individuality to shape both a message and…
By Mike Argento, NSNC President York (PA) Daily Record A new baseball stadium opened this summer in our small city here in the heart of what we fondly call Pennsyltucky. It’s a beautiful ballpark, even if it is still under construction. It sits in a crook of the Codorus Creek, which flows through the center…
A Way to Build Name Recognition By Monica McCabe Cardoza Entering a contest says a lot about your devotion to your craft. It proves that you take column writing seriously enough to want to be recognized for it. But before you say, “Oh, I never win those things,” consider this: Winning a top prize…
By Robert Haught Getting yourself syndicated is an achievable goal, but it doesn’t come easy. It takes a lot of hard work. That’s the primary advice offered by Jim Miller, a model of success in self-syndication. Miller, a member of the faculty for the 2007 Will Rogers Writers’ Workshop, syndicates his “Savvy Senior” column to 400 newspapers and…
NSNC Loves Philly – Conference Highlights By Sheila Moss, Web Editor The City of Brotherly Love opened its arms to the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the Newspaper Columnists fell in love with Philly. The NSNC annual convention opened June 21st and was greeted by both the Mayor, John F. Street, and the Governor of…
Oklahoma City Workshop Well Received By Robert Haught, Workshop Director Writers from 25 states across the country who participated in the Will Rogers Writers’ Workshop in Oklahoma City March 15-17 judged it a successful undertaking. A sizeable majority said the experience will be beneficial and many of the attendees expressed an interest in going…
By Dave Lieber Fort Worth Star-Telegram Columnist Secretary, National Society of Newspaper Columnists Education Foundation Competitors One of the best things about being a newspaper columnist is you get to compete, really compete, with columnists on other regional newspapers. And you can laugh at their foibles, and they can laugh at yours, too. It’s all…
National Columnists Day – April 18th By Bill Tammeus Former NSNC President Back in the early 1990s, when I was president of this nervy and nervous band of scribes, I got a note from a new member who was full of enthusiasm for the NSNC but was, alas, directionless. “I’d like to…
Quotes from NSNC Columnists It was 50 years ago today that Ernie Pyle should have ducked. While riding in a jeep with some soldiers on some flyspeck of a Pacific island, he was picked off by a machine gun…. Finally, I found it, sandwiched between two headstones on which were simply etched “Unknown.” There was…
