For those of you who have been following my senior thesis project about journalism curriculum change, Letters From Young Journalists, my group and I will be participating in a forum Dec. 2 between students and faculty.

The forum will take place between 6 and 8 p.m., location TBA. I've been told that the forum will be broadcast live on the 'net, but I'm not sure where yet. I will update as I know more.

If you have something you would like me to bring up or if you want to join the conversation yourself please visit the project Web site at www.lettersfromyoungjournalists.weebly.com or comment on Twitter using the hashtag #lfyj.

Here is a video I shot for the original project about what classes students would like to see.

I love NYU Prof. Jay Rosen's Twitters. So when I kept seeing him post about something called Studio 20, I knew I had to check it out.

It's a masters level concentration at NYU that focuses on Web journalism. It appears to be project-based and utilizes multiple platforms. This completely factors into my senior thesis project, but I really think journalism education needs to move in this direction where everybody does everything. At the University of Missouri, and especially at Missouri Digital News, I've gotten a taste of this. I'd be fascinated to see what people can come up with at the masters level.

I loved looking through the Web site and was about to apply. One little problem. I never took the GRE.

So Studio 20 is probably out for me (at least this round.) But check it out if you are interested. The initial application deadline is Jan. 4.

As tech savvy as I am, I still learn new things constantly. One of my many goals for Thanksgiving break was to get connected with GoogleAdSense. I know I'm not selling anything per se, but attracting people to my Web site could help me get a job.

I have to admit that the $100 gift card I received was a big reason I was willing to try the service. It seemed like an unusual way to attract attention. Here's hoping it works.

If you came in through an ad, please let me know.

I'm a chess geek. So I found Merrill Perlman's article in the Columbia Journalism Review about the misuse of chess terms by politicians and journalists very entertaining. Read it here.

I think it is so interesting how words change to fit what we want. I had never thought about the usage difference of 'pawn.' Perhaps it is because chess uses so many terms that most people use daily.

What other words do we as journalists use that can cause misconceptions?

I love any excuse to talk about politics and journalism. Last night I attended a panel discussion about how to be a political reporter put on by the MU chapter of Society of Professional Journalists. I went along to hear what the four statehouse reporters in attendance had to say (plus there was a chance of Indian food at the end.)

The students' questions eventually went to how to save newspapers. This is an issue that holds a lot of importance for statehouse reporters. As a budget saving measure, papers are shutting their capitol bureaus and many political reporters are worried about who is going to cover public policy. The American Journalism Review's 2009 count of statehouse reporters found a decrease from 524 reporters in 2003 to 355 in 2009, a more than 30 percent drop. In all 44 states lost a political reporter.

Springfield News-Leader statehouse reporter Chad Livengood says the paper now has a third of the reporters of three years ago and his job has extended to include education and a host of other beats.

His way to make money with news? Put most stories behind a pay-wall.

MU professor and 1120/KMOX Capitol Correspondent Phill Brooks asked how many audience members had read the news that day versus how many had paid for it. Only one person had paid.

Brooks then asked a similar question: of those who had read news online, who could name an ad they saw? Same result, which Brooks said was surprising. He had asked the same question to lecture halls of 300 people and had only one person raise their hand.

"This industry is committing suicide," he says.

Brooks says the industry is creating a generation of people who will not pay for news and who think they have the right to information gathered from reliable sources without footing the bill. And the tradition ad based model isn't working to support it.

This exchange made me remember an essay I had read on the Online Journalism Review blog this week. It talked about the 'bottled water' method of getting people to pay for news.

"Bottled water proves that the American public will pay for a product that they used to contentedly get for free," writes University of Massachusetts-Amherst faculty member Brian McDermott.

McDermott's perspective is very interesting. Take a look at it here.

Ohio University dominated the still photography section of the College Photographer of the Year competition, which is held annually at the Missouri School of Journalism. The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill similarly dominated the multimedia categories.

Entries were judged between Nov. 8 through Nov.13.

Although I could not attend this year, this is on of my favorite campus events. In the past I've ended up ditching almost a week's worth of classes to watch the photo judging. It is so interesting to watch the panel argue about what makes a good photo.

A list of winners can be found on the CPOY Web site.

I was floored by images submitted this year. Check out the winning photos/ multimedia projects here.

My senior thesis project, Letters From a Young Journalist, involves proposing changes to journalism education. This impassioned 'letter' from MU Junior Allison Blood is a good example of how professor's attitudes about the future of journalism impacts students.

My name is Sarah Wire. I'm in my final weeks of journalism school at the University of Missouri.

The name of this blog comes from a speech by Tim McGuire to AASFE. The quote is: