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Before you answer the question of whether journalists should publish the names of jurors, I hope you will read this piece I just wrote for Poynter.org. I became interested when on Sunday The Connecticut Post published the names, ages, hometowns and in some cases even the employer of jurors who had just been seated in a local death penalty case. The paper also produced a big honking graphic that took up half the front page. The defense attorney went ballistic. The judge heard and then rejected arguments for a mistrial. It took four months to seat a jury. Now two jurors say they chose to stop serving because they feared for their safety.  

But, as you read the article, I hope you will consider the arguments that the paper's editor and the reporter make for releasing the jurors' names. They are thoughtful and purposeful people. They are not new at this. They wonder how you can have a "public trial" if you have a "secret jury."  They wonder why journalists find it so important to use names in every other story but not in a story about a trial.

Take a look. See what you think. Talk it over in your newsroom and maybe even talk it over with the public you serve. And feel free to tell the Al's Morning Meeting audience what you think by dropping a note in the feedback section of this column. I think The Connecticut Post Editor is right when he told me that he doesn't think journalists do a good enough job explaining who and why we do what we do.

Teachers and professors: This case is tailor-made for ethics, media law, First Amendment and journalism classes.

On Monday's Al's Morning Meeting, join me for a Poynter Podcast on this case. I will be talking with Poynter's ethics gurus Bob Steele and Kelly McBride. 

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Storms and More Storms

Be alert to tropical depression number eight that turned into Tropical Storm Ingrid overnight.  The storm  had all the markings of growing into something bigger but in the 5am storm summary this morning,  forecasters said Ingrid will begin to lose strength before it approaches land. Click here to read that summary. This tropical storm is one of the reasons oil prices increased to above $80 a barrel Wednesday.

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Master's Degrees Make Big Bucks for Schools

The New York Times drilled down on a subject that we were talking about here at Poynter just this week. The number of students who are seeking master's degrees nationwide is exploding. Some schools are even offering "dual degrees" for students who aren't satisfied with just one master's degree.

The Times says:

More students than ever have started master’s programs this fall, and universities are seeing those programs as potentially lucrative sources of revenue. The number of students earning these degrees around the country has nearly doubled since 1980. Since 1970, the growth is 150 percent, more than twice as fast as bachelor and doctorate programs.

“Master’s programs are the most obvious targets of opportunity,” said George L. Mehaffy, a vice president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. “The degrees are in high demand, and this is an optimal time to enter or expand the market.”

For students, the degrees are often expensive; at private universities, many students take out $50,000 in loans for every year of school. And scholarships and fellowships are rare, unlike doctoral programs, which are usually fully financed by universities.

Still, many say the price is worth it. In his two-year master’s program in science technology and environmental policy from the University of Minnesota Craig Nelson had $35,000 in loans. Now, he works in regulatory affairs at the 3M Company.

“Without the degree, I wouldn’t have the job,” he said. “So even though I’ll be paying the loan for 10 years, it was a good move for me.”

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Should We Tighten Live Organ Donor Standards?

The Wall Street Journal reports on an emerging debate over whether the high demand for organ donors has led doctors to accept living donors who really should not qualify:

The debate reflects a tension between the need for organ donors and concerns that doctors may be lowering standards for living donors too far or failing to catch problems that could put the donor at unacceptable risk. Many transplant programs now allow people to donate who would have been screened out a few years ago, including those who are obese or have high blood pressure or diabetes.

Often marginally qualified donors demand to be approved, contending the choice is their own to accept the risk when someone they love needs a transplant. Transplant surgeons have also loosened standards for deceased donors, accepting, for instance, organs from much older dead donors than ever before.

The new guidelines -- from the United Network for Organ Sharing, the private organization that runs the nation's transplant network -- include four pieces, of which the most contentious are two sets of voluntary guidelines. The first aims to ensure that potential donors are properly screened, both medically and psychologically; that afterward they are followed to ensure no problems develop; and that people who are at increased risk never make it to the operating room. The second lays out recommendations to ensure donors give their informed consent.

Find out more about living donors by clicking here.

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One-third of Information Technology Projects Run Over Budget

C/Net reports:

A third of IT projects carried out in the private sector runs between 10 and 20 percent over the original budget, according to a survey.

And one in four projects costs 50 percent more than it was expected to, according to the survey of 100 chief information officers, which also found that the typical large company is running 29 projects at any one time.

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