President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists Beware the Ides of March. We have all heard this old saying and have promptly ignored it, especially if we’ve heard it in, say, November, because it raises an important question: What the hell is an ide? It could be used to say, “Ide…
you, the columnist By Dave Lieber Dallas Morning News columnist Did you catch any of the wonderful snippets of advice on Twitter recently tied to the hashtag #AdviceforYoungJournalists? Hundreds of folks participated from around the world. Some responses were annoying such as one posted by anti-newspaper dolt @jeffjarvis (“Don’t get old.”) Others were quite wonderful:…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists William Shakespeare said, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” Dorothy Parker did the Bard one better when she said, “Brevity is the soul of lingerie.” Since it is February, the shortest month of the year, I am going with another old saying: “Thirty days…
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…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists My best New Year’s resolution was made many New Years ago, a year after my worst New Year’s resolution, which was to develop a taste for Scotch. Looking for a beverage that would mark me as smooth, suave and sophisticated in restaurants (which did…
Jeff Zaslow College Columnist Award Contest Each year, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists Education Foundation sponsors a unique scholarship for student columnists. College writers are encouraged to enter our 17th annual contest for collegiate newspaper columnists. The winner receives a $1,000 scholarship. Second- and third-place finalists receive certificates of achievement. In addition, the winner…
The annual contest of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists is open! The deadline this year is: Sunday, March 15, midnight Pacific Has been extended to midnight Pacific on Wednesday, April 1! Besides fame, winners and finalists get a token of fortune: $300 for first place, $200 for second and $100 for third. Finalists and…
These are the rules for the 2015 column contest, covering columns published in the 2014 calendar year. First place in each category will receive $300, second place $200 and third place $100, in addition to certificates. Honorable mentions receive certificates. Deadline for entries is Sunday, March 15, 2015, now Wednesday, April 1, 2015, midnight Pacific.…
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…
Mary Stobie, a National Society of Newspaper Columnists member, released in October what she calls a “patchwork memoir,” You Fall Off, You Get Back On. The 204-page book is published by Liberator Press and is available through local booksellers or online. According to her website marystobie.com, the volume is “an unusual and just plain joyful…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists This month’s message is brought to you by the Jerry’s Kids College, Wedding and Adorable Granddaughter Fund, a nonprofit organization so disorganized that it doesn’t make a profit. I wouldn’t want to see other organizations that are close to my heart (and other vital…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists Gentle Readers: I am writing from my manor in the manner of Miss Manners, using all manner of mannerly ways to say that Judith Martin (aka the aforementioned Miss Manners) has kindly and graciously accepted our invitation to attend the NSNC conference in Indianapolis…
Jennifer Grant, a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, has not one but two books out this fall. Disquiet Time: Rants and Reflections on the Good Book by the Skeptical, the Faithful, and a Few Scoundrels (Hachette/Jericho Books), co-edited by religion columnist Cathleen Falsani, has an Oct. 21 release date. It is endorsed…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists With apologies to Frank Sullivan, the late, little-known but wonderful humorist who created Mr. Arbuthnot, the cliché expert, I am happy to introduce Mr. Lingo, the NSNC’s new, unsalaried language guru. Q: Welcome, Mr. Lingo. You are an expert in the use of clichés that…
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?…
you, the columnist By Dave Lieber Dallas Morning News columnist I’m taking the long view with you, the columnist, about the future of journalism and column writing. The long view now is 18 months away. Remember when it was five years? In this briefest of essays, I was prepared to argue that all the efforts…
President’s Message By Jerry Zezima President National Society of Newspaper Columnists I write an alleged humor column (I have to say “alleged” because I am not above suing even myself) for a simple reason: I am spectacularly unqualified to do anything else. I knew I wanted to be a writer in high school, not just…
