Category: Advocacy

NSNC: AP Records Raid Wrong

AP logo, The Associated Press

The board of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists condemns the Department of Justice’s deliberate disregard of the United States Constitution in its secret confiscation of telephonic records of offices and journalists of The Associated Press. The NSNC board demands strong disciplinary action against those responsible for violating the First Amendment in this manner. The…

2013-15 Slate of Officers Proposed

Columnists and bloggers: Get ready for a rollicking time, as two top humorists — Jerry Zezima and Bill Ervolino — have accepted nominations to run for top spots at the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. The NSNC board has accepted a slate of candidates for two-year terms plus a candidate to serve one year, due…

’11 Lifetime Achievement Winner Roger Ebert Dies

Chicago Sun-Times

(Four paragraphs have been added at the end of this article.) Chicago Sun-Times movie critic Roger Ebert died Thursday, April 4, 2013, his newspaper reported. Ebert had been the film critic of the Chicago Sun–Times since 1967, and his reviews were syndicated in more than 200 newspapers around the world. He won the Pulitzer Prize…

NSNC Board Member Brinkley under Fire

Tribune Media Services

By Ben S. Pollock Director of Online Media, 2010-12 president National Society of Newspaper Columnists Joel Brinkley, 2012-14 education chair of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, has come under fire for his column dated Feb. 1, 2013, that compared the diets of several Southeast Asian countries. Brinkley, a Pulitzer Prize winner for international reporting,…

‘Startlegram’ Drops ‘Watchdog’ Columnist

Turkey vulture, Cathartes aura, 2007. Photo Joshin Yamada, Wikipedia

The circling turkey vultures of corporate newspaper ownership landed in Fort Worth this week. Among the downsized Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013, at the Star-Telegram was its consumer “watchdog” columnist, Dave Lieber. Lieber is the 2002 recipient of the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and is secretary of the NSNC…

Another Year, Another Deadline (‘Deadline Artists,’ That Is)

New York Journal-American newsroom, circa 1950

Columnists.com celebrates Black Friday, the nation’s biggest retailing day, by announcing the publication this week of Deadline Artists — Scandals, Tragedies and Triumphs: More of America’s Greatest Newspaper Columns. In September 2011, the first collection, Deadline Artists: America’s Greatest Newspaper Columns, also compiled by Jesse Angelo, Errol Louis and NSNC member John P. Avlon, came…

Byko’s Book: ‘Cats Are Supermodels’

Cats Are Supermodels, by Stu Bykofsky

“Love cats? Know someone who does? You’re going to love this,” says Stu Bykofsky. So it’s a serious, calm, reasoned book, out in time for the holidays, that pays respectful tribute to humankind’s other best friends Felis catus? You know Stu. He’s the longtime member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists who hosted its…

Penguin to Publish O’Connor Book

Published Book

PRESS RELEASE — Syndicated personal finance columnist Brian O’Connor has landed a deal to publish a guide to budgeting in bad times based on his award-winning series of “Grand Experiment” columns in The Detroit News. The series involved O’Connor putting his family budget under the microscope in a 10-week attempt to cut $1,000 — a…

Newspaper Honors Late NSNC President

Hartford Courant

Jan Cohen, wife of Larry Cohen, the NSNC president who died Aug. 27, 2012, at age 64, wants to share photos from a celebration of Larry held Sept. 28 at his old paper, the Hartford Courant. “We had about 100 attending, with 14 speakers telling funny Larry stories, a slide show of Larry photos, and…

Bombeck Blog Seeks Contributors

Blog comments

Teri Rizvi, founder of the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, writes: Ahoy, writers! Tim Bete, former EBWW director and author of Guide to Pirate Parenting, is one funny guy. If you missed his laugh-filled, insightful workshop, “How I Converted 7,000 Hours of Work into $10 Hard Cash and Then Turned a Single Stupid Idea Into $37,000,”…

NSNC President Larry Cohen Dies

Larry Cohen, NSNC 2012-14 president, died Monday, Aug. 27, 2012, of a heart attack in Florida. He was 64. He had been elected May 6 by unanimous vote at the annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, in Macon, Ga. Laurence D. Cohen joined the NSNC in 1996 and had experience in government,…

New Memoir Highlights Columnists and NSNC

When you stay in one job for a quarter century as Comic (and Column) Confessional author Dave Astor did, it helps to have good reasons for doing so. Here are a few: Heloise, Arianna Huffington, Ann Landers, Abigail Van Buren, David Broder, Ellen Goodman, George Will, Erma Bombeck, Dave Barry, Art Buchwald, Walter Cronkite, Hillary…

NSNC Honoree William Raspberry Dies

The Washington Post has reported today (Tuesday, July 17, 2012) that its longtime columnist William Raspberry died today of prostate cancer. He was 76. Raspberry was the 1995 recipient of the Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, presented at that year’s conference, in Kansas City, Mo. The Post article…

Find the Latest Studies

newspaper

By Suzette Martinez Standring National Society of Newspaper Columnists Looking for new studies and experts to quote? Whatever type of column you write, professional authority and the latest research will bolster your position. One of the most valuable tips shared at a NSNC conference was the website, www.newswise.com. Now I use it daily to find…

Semi-Clueless about My New National Blog

Blog comments

Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring Past President National Society of Newspaper Columnists I come late to the blogging party. This has been my reluctance: What, another deadline? I can’t compete with established, tech-savvy bloggers. Do I really need more emails to suck up all my writing time? Now I blog. What changed?…

Perel Publishes Collection

Cracked Nuts & Sentimental Journeys: Stories From a Life Out of Balance, by Saralee Perel

Four-time NSNC column contest winner Saralee Perel has a new book, Cracked Nuts & Sentimental Journeys: Stories From a Life Out of Balance. To read about Cracked Nuts, including how to receive a signed copy, please visit her website: www.saraleeperel.com. Online, Saralee’s columns can be found at her blog. Information on her recent novel Raw…

Walt, It’s About Time

Pennsylvania Press Club

Longtime NSNC member Walt Brasch has received the Lifetime Communicator of Achievement award from the Pennsylvania Press Club, reported a newspaper that runs his column. The News Eagle said Walt received the honor June 3 in Gettysburg at the club’s annual dinner. The lifetime is the state press club’s highest award, recognizing both significant journalistic…