By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist “Fame is relative. Only my relatives are famous,” Nick Clooney quipped when I interviewed him for this story. But that’s a bit of self-deprecation, because the father of actor/director George Clooney and brother of late singer/actress Rosemary Clooney has been – among other things – a well-known TV news director/anchor,…
Dear Alex, I bought a weight-loss gadget and then ended up writing about my experience for my lifestyle column. Can I write off the cost of the gadget as a business expense even though it wasn’t purchased with that intent? Sincerely, Hoping for a Tax Break This Month, NSNC Vice President Chris Carosa…
By James A. Haught NSNC Member Newspaper collapse is a sickening reality. More than half of U.S. newspaper jobs vanished rather quickly as advertising revenue eroded. Back in 2001, the industry employed 411,800, but by late 2016 the total had dropped to 173,700. Scores of papers died or went online-only. My own paper, The Charleston…
By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist The last time Clarence Page spoke at a National Society of Newspaper Columnists conference, the syndicated Chicago Tribune writer was honored with our 2007 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award in Philadelphia. This year, Page will return as a June 9 keynoter at the 2018 NSNC conference in Cincinnati – not…
By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President There was once a folksy columnist and distinguished wartime chronicler who left such an indelible mark on journalism that NSNC gives its most prestigious award in his name, and celebrates National Columnists Day in his honor. That journalist was Ernie Pyle, and today NSNC is proud to announce a…
Thursday-Sunday, June 7-10, 2018 Kingsgate Marriott Conference Center at the University of Cincinnati 151 Goodman Drive, Cincinnati, OH NSNC Conference Chair: Bonnie Jean Feldkamp Register Here Thursday, June 7, 2018 12:00 Noon: New Riff Distillery will sponsor private tour of bourbon distillery and spirits tasting for NSNC attendees who signed up in advance (60-90 minutes,…
By Suzette Standring NSNC Executive Director The NSNC welcomes Chris Carosa as our new vice president. The weekly columnist with The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel of New York stepped into the vice presidency after Mike Morin resigned mid-term. Carosa said, “I’m very honored to be invited to serve. I’ve always sought out groups that I…
By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President One year ago, NSNC was in a very different place than it is today. Like most journalism organizations experiencing Digital Age shifts, NSNC was seeing a decline in dues-paying members, a reduction in income, and increasing difficulty raising funds. Some got desperate, and either agreed to be swallowed up…
Dear Alex, How can a writer rebrand themselves; what columnists have done so successfully? After writing a book and hundreds of blog posts, I’m officially uninspired writing for my particular niche market. Sincerely, Same old, Same old This Month, Dave Astor and Mike Morin offer advice: Dear Same old, Same old, Leonard Pitts Jr. is…
By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President Does this sound familiar? You’ve finally arrived home after numerous trips to the local strip malls to buy the latest toy for your niece, twinkle lights for the porch, ear warmers for your spouse, and supplies to bake 12 dozen pecan tarts for the neighborhood cookie exchange. Then, it…
by Rick Horowitz NSNC Member Can We Be Honest Here? “Society” is a ridiculous word to describe us. “Society” is posh. Precious. Pinkies are extended. Platitudes are uttered. We’re talking about columnists, for pity’s sake! A national “society” of columnists? You might as well speak of a “mob” of philatelists. A “coven” of neurosurgeons. An…
By Dave Lieber Dallas Morning News columnist If you’re reading this, you, the columnist, already believe you have strong messages, insights, and opinions to share in your writing. Nobody without that kind of self-confidence could ever be reading this columnists’ newsletter, right? But how did you get here? Chances are you were helped by a…
By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist The National Society of Newspaper Columnists is proud to announce that our 2018 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is…Connie Schultz! Ms. Schultz – the much-admired, widely read 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner for commentary – received the award during the NSNC’s June 7-10, 2018, conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. When asked…
By Cathy Turney October is National Self-Promotion Month (really!), and there is no less expensive, faster, and easier way for journalists and bloggers to promote themselves and get their writing before thousands of eyeballs than Twitter. “My Twitter followers have helped me grab the attention of powerful influencers, got one of my stories 30,000 reads…
This is the 22nd in a series of articles about winners of the NSNC’s annual Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award. By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist It’s fitting that Gene Weingarten received our 2014 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award just a year after Dave Barry won the 2013 Pyle prize. They’re both humorists (though Weingarten is…
This is the 21th in a series of articles about winners of the NSNC’s annual Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award. By Dave Astor NSNC Archivist Four years after Dave Barry won our 2013 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award, I thought I’d do a brief email Q&A with the renowned humorist. Of course, in this case,…
By Lisa Smith Molinari NSNC President Registration is now open. Register HERE. You may have recently unpacked from our wildly successful #NSNC17 conference in Manchester, New Hampshire, but mark your calendars again, because you’ll be traveling to the Midwest next spring! In a unanimous vote on the final day of our June conference, NSNC’s general…
