Columns for NSNC by its 2004-06 President Suzette Martinez Standring, author of the books “The Art of Opinion Writing” and “The Art of Column Writing”
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists Life is an unexpected ride. I’m a columnist who presents writing workshops, maybe the occasional keynote. But stand-up comedy? Terrifying! I am not that gal. Or am I? On a lark I did a Story Slam recently. The theme was…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists The French magazine Charlie Hebdo was notorious for its offensive satire on religion, and gunmen proclaiming revenge in the name of the Prophet Mohammed imposed the ultimate form of censorship. Death. Those who peddle in professional mockery now fear for…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists It’s much ado about nothing. Or perhaps I should say “adieu.” Time Magazine’s Fourth Annual Word Banishment Poll is all high and mighty about what words to ban in 2015. Wordsmiths at Time please take note: The primary meaning of…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists Dinner with forensic scientist Dr. Henry C. Lee, blogging and “what’s-it all-about-Alfie” all came together for me one night. You see, a question gnaws at the edges of my gray matter. Can one have writing success without a vibrant blog?…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists Columnist downsizing feels like a solitary darkness, so news that our industry is turning a corner was sunlight on a cell window. Last June John Avlon, editor in chief of The Daily Beast, was a bringer of light. At the…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 NSNC president It’s countdown to the conference, and for me the journey comes full circle. It was the year 2000 when I first tiptoed into a ballroom of columnists in Washington, D.C. That was 14 years ago, and now the NSNC is back in the Capital.…
Art of Column Writing This column originally was published in the April 2014 edition of The Columnist, the members’ newsletter of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 NSNC president Recently I ventured into a column genre so outside of my comfort zone: foreign affairs. I was inspired to try based…
Art of Column Writing This column originally was published in the February 2014 edition of The Columnist, the members’ newsletter of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists With a 40-plus year career Michael Rue Masterson offers daunting advice: Be relentless in telling the truth.…
Art of Column Writing This column was originally published in the December 2013 edition of The Columnist, the members’ newsletter of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists Everything we write is based on an opinion, whether a column is hot with political passion or…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists I like the underdog. Recently, I was responsible for featuring notorious art thief Myles J. Connor Jr., age 69, at a rare public appearance that took place in Milton, Mass. Understandably, a powerful aversion to his having a public platform…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists I am curious about anyone who would fly 10,000 miles from Australia to our conference in Hartford. Annie Barr is our Down Under gal from Barham, New South Wales, and wins for the longest distance traveled. Let’s give her a…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists Promote, stand out, and work social media! Gee, I’m exhausted. I adore writing, but I am bothered and bewildered by all that I must do “to get it out there.” I only like twittering when birds do it. Is there…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists Spirituality and conscience underscore the opinion columns by Robert C. Koehler who ranks among the top op-ed columnists nationally, according to Media Matters. Syndicated since 1999 with Tribune Media, Bob is a self-described peace journalist whose columns expose the facts,…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring 2004-06 President National Society of Newspaper Columnists Years ago, op-ed was associated only with political commentary. Today, op-ed can take invented directions on current affairs. For example, how pop culture is mirrored in politics is the unique viewpoint of columnist Joanna Weiss of The Boston Globe. “Putting…
Art of Column Writing By Suzette Martinez Standring Past President National Society of Newspaper Columnists No matter what our specialty is, we can learn from columnists with a very different focus. Joel Brinkley, who also serves as the NSNC education chair, is one of only a handful of foreign affairs op-ed columnists in the United…
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?…
By Suzette Martinez Standring NSNC Past President At writing conferences, creativity often gets short shrift in favor of growing one’s business. Supersize followers on Facebook and Twitter! Get readers a-gogging with vlogging and blogging! Strengthen your footing on the technology trail. Very helpful, yes, but when all is said and done, it is about our…
