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Tag Archives: columnist

Honorable, on National Scale

Saturday, June 27, 2009

VENTURA, Calif. — Earlier this month, Brick revealed it was a finalist in the annual contest of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. This evening at a banquet, it was announced that the honor was honorable mention, Online Columns category. Here is a list of all winners. Here is the judge’s comment: Ben S. Pollock [...]

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Hunting and Gathering … Information

Friday, June 26, 2009

VENTURA, Calif. — The annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists convened in the morning, hewing closely to the announced theme of “Survive and Thrive.” Yes, we heard tips; the fate of newspapers may be out of our control, but columnists both staff and freelance theoretically have a fighting chance to also pursue [...]

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I Thought We Were in Trouble

Friday, June 26, 2009

VENTURA, Calif. — We themed (why not?) the 2009 conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists “Survive and Thrive,” and the speakers returned working titles that showed they understood, what with the now daily frosts at the beginning of the Newspaper Ice Age. So why are they so upbeat? It’s grim humor, gallows or [...]

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Opening Volley

Thursday, June 25, 2009

LOS ANGELES — I’m about 20 years too early to have hearing aids, but there it is. I’ve had one in my right ear since mid-2005, and six months ago had to begin wearing them in both. Each new auditory circumstance, rather than getting, “Wow, birds chirping!” often starts with, “What?” My first movie with [...]

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Aw, Shucks

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

In mid-May, I received the following e-mail: Dear Ben Pollock, Congratulations. You are a winner in the “On-line Category” of the 2009 National Society of Newspaper Columnists annual contest. We hope you will be with us to accept your award in person in beautiful Ventura, Calif. at the NSNC annual conference, June 25-28. For more [...]

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Newspaper Stat, NSNC Stet

Saturday, April 18, 2009

There’s been e-talk among the membership about renaming the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. I was for it, liked some of the proposals, but now I’m agin it. It’s not that I’m sore that my suggestion, International House of Toast (nod to Bob and Ray) was ignored. We would be following the path of a [...]

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Blog, Column Contest Ends Sunday

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The 2009 deadline of a long-running column-writing contest, now open to bloggers, is less than a week away. Entries for the seven categories of the annual contest of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists need to have a postmark — or time-stamp — of Sunday, March 15. Five of the categories are traditional: humor and [...]

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Deluge for a Deluge

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Copyright 2008 Ben S. Pollock NEW ORLEANS — You had to be here, you have to go here, to fully realize what’s going on here. If that is true then what of the Indonesian tsunami that began Dec. 26, 2004? Do you have to go to Iowa to understand its massive flood this month? You [...]

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Big Money

Monday, June 23, 2008

NEW ORLEANS — The second speaker for the columnists conference was Jarvis DeBerry of the Times-Picayune. He had a heck of a column Sunday showing how this month’s flooding in Iowa and The Storm (Katrina-Rita of 2005) have at least this much in common: deliberate damage to wetlands to benefit humanity in what has become [...]

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Home of the Owls

Sunday, June 22, 2008

NEW ORLEANS — Come, see for yourself. My fellow conferees and myself, being journalists, have read about The Storm since it blew in Aug. 29, 2005, and refreshed ourselves before coming to town. Even though we’re writers, some of us very good, none can explain the devastation and slow recovery as effectively as being here. [...]

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