The Masthead

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

As I gaze into the future.(PRESIDENT'S LETTER: Straight talk from David Holwerk)
ALL OF US KNOW that this is a difficult time for our industries and our profession, so it should come as no surprise that these are difficult times for NCEW, too. How difficult? Because of declini . . .

Pulitzer win sends message.
Sometimes, you strike a nerve." So begins one of Mark Mahoney's editorials on freedom of information and open government--editorials that won him this year's Pulitzer Prize. Writing "sunshine" edi . . .

Facebook or facetime?(MASTHEAD SYMPOSIUM)
The genesis of this edition's Symposium started with a question about balancing our ever-dwindling time in our ever-dwindling shops, and a lively response from David Barnham: "Limit meetings as mu . . .

Look 'em in the eye: don't be too worried about online presence to meet with real people.(MASTHEAD SYMPOSIUM)
On consecutive days a while back, two groups of "real" people came in to talk to the Mobile Press-Register editorial board. They weren't politicians, and they weren't our usual suspects among commun . . .

Dwindling staffs hurt meeting time: editors and advocates are changing the way they do business.(SYMPOSIUM: Facebook or face tim
Downsizing had left our newsroom looking blighted. All those vacated desks and darkened computers troubled Spokane Spokesman-Review editor Gary Graham, so he had the abandoned cubicles replaced with . . .

Community wants time with you: despite the Web, people still want to sit down with journalists.(SYMPOSIUM: Facebook or face time
I am a consultant for ballot measures, issue advocacy, and candidates in California. One of the first questions my clients always ask is: When do we get to meet with editorial boards? That's becau . . .

Twitter: a cheap way to get readers.(INNOVATIONS)
Our first outside "follower" was a dog-loving photographer based right here in Nashua, New Hampshire. Next came a computer designer, an author-educator, and an animal activist. Along the way, our . . .

Tweets on Twitter from the listserv.
The question isn't just how [to tweet], but why? Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc., [together] bring people to our electronic sites. How many hundreds of thousands of "followers" "friends," etc. would . . .

Reward the reader.(INNOVATIONS)
To the late Robert Bartley, taking stock of his Wall Street Journal career, the editorial page was a blue-chip asset. Rick Fahr of the Log Cabin Democrat in Conway, Arkansas, presents it as a potent . . .

Opposites face off but keep it civil.(INNOVATIONS)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Watching the NCEW Opinion Pool focus groups in Seattle last year, I was struck by how often participants said they wanted to read strong and opposing opinions side by side. . . .

No villains here, just sadness.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Rocky Mountain News is dead, and I mourn it. It would have been 150 years old on April 23, and it didn't deserve to die. It was a great paper, and a great place to work. . . .

I won't 'friend' someone online if I wouldn't be friends in real life.
I haven't warmed to the idea of becoming Facebook friends with politicians, sources, subjects, and flaks. I really do not need them to know about my recent trip to Walla Walla for a bit of wine tast . . .

Students staff non-profit paper.
Last November, New York Governor David Paterson visited a community center in the South Bronx to announce a plan to curb the asthma epidemic that afflicts the neighborhood. The city's press corps wa . . .

Federal shield law is long overdue.(PRO/CON)
CONGRESS IS AGAIN considering the Free Flow of Information Act--a federal press shield law. Its passage is long overdue. Though most states have such laws, they are easily evaded by filing suits in . . .

Sources won't dry up without shield laws.(PRO/CON)
SURELY THE RIGHT to publish carries with it a right to gather information. But does that, in turn, translate into a right to protect secret sources? I'm not yet persuaded that we need a federal la . . .

A fluid program for changing times.(CONVENTION 2009)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Fluid" is a word to describe the planning that is underway for this year's NCEW Convention in Salt Lake City, September 23-26. The evolving goal has been to find the most . . .

The Foundation will show NCEW the way forward.(NCEW FOUNDATION)
There's plenty of woe in the world of non-profit profit organizations these days, and the NCEW Foundation is no exception. Our corpus is down and contributions are as well. That's no different than . . .

NCEW Foundation launches the Nancy Q. Keefe Endowment Fund.(NCEW FOUNDATION)
NO, THAT'S NOT the most eye-catching headline ever devised. But for those who believe that steady investment and careful planning are the way to ensure NCEW's survival into the future--and count me . . .

Members to vote on new name.
NCEW members will have the opportunity to vote on a name change for the organization at the Salt Lake City convention in September. Among the initial proposals: the Conference of Opinion Journalists . . .

Plenty to choose from.
Ideas for a new name came fast and furious on the listserv, with a number offered in jest. Dan Radmacher reminded us that a new name is deadly serious business. To get you thinking, consider: * In . . .

Crafting a future for NCEW.(EDITOR'S NOTE)
THE FORCES buffeting the news industry have also left their mark on NCEW. President David Holwerk has resigned. The Executive Committee is contemplating a new name for our organization that pitches . . .

Foundation helps support new site.(EDITOR'S NOTE)
Plans to revamp NCEW's Website are proceeding with a pledge of support from the NCEW Foundation to cover some of the costs. When the new site is launched, members should find it to be far more use . . .

Care and feeding of blogs.(EDITOR'S NOTE)(Editorial)
As the editorial writing craft continues its evolution from a print to an online medium, the blog has emerged as the place where the action is. The blog, in so many ways, is the perfect vehicle fo . . .

Cultivate your blog and its audience: cross-promote, get the word out, and link, link, link.(MASTHEAD SYMPOSIUM: Care and feedin
Jim Boren, in tending The Fresno Bee's Opinion Talk blog, uses "drip irrigation." For the California agricultural region around Fresno, it's an apt metaphor. But instead of judiciously targeted us . . .

Dawning of the post-newspaper world.(MASTHEAD SYMPOSIUM: Care and feeding of blogs)(Brief article)
A whole ecology of local news is coming and among the players will be: * Local nonprofits with newspaper-style journalism and foundation/philanthropist subsidy * For-profits and nonprofits subsi . . .

Engage with the blogosphere--even the writers who criticize you: use the Web to market your product.(MASTHEAD SYMPOSIUM: Care an
Robert Cox loves to mix it up in the blogosphere. The president of the Media Bloggers Association rose to prominence when the New York Times ignored his concerns about an inaccurate quote in a pro . . .

The unfairness of the 'fairness doctrine'.
Maybe those right-wing radio talk-protest too much. The threatened renewal of the "fairness doctrine," as promised by House Speaker Pelosi, could be just another straw man, something to rile the f . . .

A perfect storm of 'pet peeve' words.(Viewpoint essay)
Sure, I've made some bad word choices in 2008. What can I say? I am just an imperfect writer describing a perfect storm. More on that later. How's that for telegraphed foreshadowing? But a new y . . .

Obama's challenges in foreign policy.(Barack Obama)
If change is the mantra of the Obama presidency, then it must move the county away from Cold War policies that still dominate U.S. decision-making. So noted two speakers at the November 6 seminar on . . .

Bring the community discussion to your Web site.(INNOVATIONS)
In the summer of 2008, the Wausau Daily Herald and other Gannett Wisconsin newspapers joined together to present an unprecedented, in-depth look at the state's culture of alcohol use and abuse. "Sta . . .

Coming soon: a must-visit Web site.
An ad hoc committee appointed by NCEW's board is working on a major revamp of NCEW's Web site. Our goal is to have the new site up and running by July 1. Several assumptions are driving our work: . . .

The editorial page editor as referee.(Viewpoint essay)
The price of free speech seems to be rising these days. Unfortunately, people who write letters to the editor--offering their real names, actual hometowns and heartfelt opinions--sometimes pay a s . . .

Survival means becoming a digital entrepreneur.
When Pulitzer winners, popular columnists and industry-leading editorial page editors start disappearing in layoffs, you can safely assume it is not about the writing or the journalism. Whether any . . .

When your editorial goes viral--in a bad way.
Endorsement interviews are designed to inform and influence the thinking of voters, but are not often a news event in their own right. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial board members could not h . . .

Going to Salt Lake City.(CONVENTION 2009)(National Conference of Editorial Writers)(Conference news)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "When the going gets tough, the tough get going," is a familiar adage. Well, times are tough. They're unpredictable and challenging. And that's precisely the reason the de . . .

A strategy to build membership.(PRESIDENT'S LETTER: Straight talk from David Holwerk)
You have plenty of bad news about our line of work these days, so here's some news I hope you'll find encouraging. The officers and board have a plan to help NCEW grow, even in these difficult tim . . .

A tribute to Carol Horner.(LAST WORD)(In memoriam)
Carol Horner, to reverse John F. Kennedy's remark about Washington, D.C., was a woman of Northern efficiency and Southern charm. She was instinctively polite and gracious, two characteristics partic . . .

Calendar.(Brief article)(Conference notes)
The National Press Foundation, a non-profit educational foundation based in Washington, DC, with a grant from the Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation, is offering an all-expenses-paid four- . . .

Snap out of doldrums, and fight back to save journalism.(EDITOR'S NOTE)
AT THE SEPTEMBER convention Little Rock, there was much cash-bar and coffee-bar conversation about what was happening to editorial pages while newspapers figure out how to transform the business mod . . .

Editorial pages best to defend, assert the role of journalism: former editor delivers a call to arms.(MASTHEAD SYMPOSIUM)
The arguments over what is truth have become a blood-sport in which the most vociferous of the competing forces simply do not play fair. The airwaves--open to all, thank goodness--are filled with ar . . .

Searching for optimism in transformation: much excitement ahead in journalism.(SYMPOSIUM)
One of the most notable characteristics of gatherings of journalists these days is the pervasive sense of sadness about the disintegration of the old ways of the news business and fear about its fut . . .

Fundamentals still the key in convergence media: quality, ethics, integrity make way for opportunity.(SYMPOSIUM)
The terms "new" and "old" media tend to distort discussion about the change in the way people access information and to artificially divide debate into opposing camps. There is good, informative j . . .

Monster-of-an-editorial crusade abolishes 'Frankenstein' veto: persistence, creativity a powerful combination.
"MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- State Sen. Fred Risser set the date Friday for a public hearing on a plan to limit the governor's broad veto power after enduring 52 days of scathing editorials from the state . . .

Interactive letters blog creates a new opinion marketplace: a place for community discussion, arguments.(Passionate Prose)
Well, one thing we did right was pick a name. We call our letters blog "Passionate Prose"--and that is proving to be true. First, some credentials. I was involved in the UPI computer implement . . .

Newspaper poetry enters new age on the Iowa City editorial page: rhyming sirloin with Des Moines.
About two-and-one-half years ago I attempted to help revive the languishing practice of newspaper poetry by establishing a regular Poetic License feature in the Iowa City Press-Citizen. As home to . . .

Variations on a Line by Lance Armstrong: The Week in Review.(Poem)
Variations on a Line by Lance Armstrong: The Week in Review A rhetorical genius is Lance, who knows that PR can be tricky. when asked what he thought of Iowa, he said, "It's a little bit . . .

'Crowdsourcing' the Opinion Pool: sharing time-savers for productivity.(OPINION POOL)
A year now has passed since the Opinion Pool officially was launched, and as project participants worked aggressively to innovate and develop new routines and raise their online profiles a few other . . .

Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers.(OPINION POOL)(Brief article)
New approach: Undecideds debate debates www.tcpalm.com/blogs/great-debates [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We surveyed almost three hundred members of our Reader Sounding Board, found four members (you . . .

The Des Moines Register.(OPINION POOL)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] desmoinesregister.com/opinion New approaches: Used coveritlive.com software to invite featured guest bloggers from both parties to live-blog each of the presidential debat . . .

The Kansas City Star.(OPINION POOL)(Brief article)
Midwest Voices blog: http://voices.kansascity.com/ [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] New approaches: Live blogging during and immediately after presidential and veep debates, by several board members, seve . . .