Why journalism matters

If you've ever wondered whether what you're going through to become a journalist is worth it, read Washington Post reporter Ann Hull's comments delivered as she accepted the Lovejoy Award for courageous reporting. She speaks about both reporters and photojournalists.

It's extradordinary.

Planning to graduate in May?

Graduation applications are due (in theory) to the registrar's office on Monday. You can get a form at Griz Central or download one by going to this site and clicking on The University of Montana Application for Bachelor Degree. (Once you get a diploma you can help the office understand possessive case.)

Print a transcript from Cyberbear. Use it to fill out the form. Make sure you don't neglect to fill every applicable line. You MUST state what specific courses you will register for in spring. You can't just say, a 400-level course in history, for example.

Once you have filled it out, give it to your adviser AND note in writing for the adviser when and where you did your internship. The adviser will fill out a form we need for accreditation and pass all this on to me. I'll check it over, sign it if it's accurate and complete and give it to Judy in Room 412 (8-noon, M-Th)for photocopying and filing. YOU have to pick it up, and carry it (along with $25) to Griz Central.

They have this early deadline so that any problems they catch can be fixed (we hope) by what classes you register for spring semester. They're trying to make sure you won't have to come back to school next fall.

The difference between errors and ethics violations

Remember, there's a difference between bad journalism that stems from human errors and the ethical dilemmas that we'll focus on in the seminar. This is bad journalism, but isn't really an ethics question. This is about ethics because it addresses at least one of the core principles of journalism, such as fairness, responsbility and other values that influence our professional conduct. So if you are reading Romenesko for ethical dilemmas that journalists are debating, you'll know which stories to pay particular attention to.