Every newspaper in existence adheres to some type of style to make sure copy is uniform. Many newspapers, although not all, use the Associated Press Stylebook to guide those decisions, but every paper makes its own style decisions on certain word choices.

However, illegal immigrant is one of those words that's been problematic for some newspapers and writers for some now. Last year, in response to the conversations taking place in newsrooms across the country, the Society of Professional Journalists finally passed a resolution recommending newsrooms stop using "illegal alien," and even questioned the term "illegal immigrant," in stories on immigration when describing undocumented immigrants.

It wasn't that long ago that AP said it was going to stick by illegal immigrant, as did the New York Times (locally the UA's Arizona Daily Wildcat, recently announced it decided to use the term undocumented).

Today, AP announced it was no longer using illegal immigrant in the Stylebook. The AP announcement stated it was making "some changes in how we describe people living in a country illegally."

From AP's Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll:

The Stylebook no longer sanctions the term “illegal immigrant” or the use of “illegal” to describe a person. Instead, it tells users that “illegal” should describe only an action, such as living in or immigrating to a country illegally.

Why did we make the change?

The discussions on this topic have been wide-ranging and include many people from many walks of life. (Earlier, they led us to reject descriptions such as “undocumented,” despite ardent support from some quarters, because it is not precise. A person may have plenty of documents, just not the ones required for legal residence.)

Those discussions continued even after AP affirmed “illegal immigrant” as the best use, for two reasons.

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Also, we had in other areas been ridding the Stylebook of labels. The new section on mental health issues argues for using credibly sourced diagnoses instead of labels. Saying someone was “diagnosed with schizophrenia” instead of schizophrenic, for example.

And that discussion about labeling people, instead of behavior, led us back to “illegal immigrant” again.

If there's one blog whose posts get passed around among my friends, it's Black Girl Dangerous. I recommend you follow its incredibly insightful posts. A recent post on CNN's coverage of the Steubenville, Ohio, rape trial is particularly worth your time. You can read it in its entirety here.

A snippet:

Now, I'm no fan of CNN, and I wouldn't have expected much. But this is beyond the pale, even for them. And it's a continuation of the rape culture that exists in this country and in this world that has been so highlighted by the Steubenville case, a case which "polarized" Steubenville because, while many folks seem to know that rape is bad, many people there, and elsewhere, seem to think that football is more important than 16-year-old girls not getting sexually assaulted. Rape culture has us always blaming women for rape, whether it's because of how we're dressed or how much we drink or whatever. Somehow, underneath it all, it's always kinda the woman's fault. After all, men and boys have penises and those things are just so hard to control, it can't possibly be their fault. So, women and girls have to take on the responsibility of not getting raped. Because, you know, boys will be boys and stuff.

And while I'm thinking of the Steubenville verdict, why not share some perspective from Henry Rollins?:

I think to a great degree, we humans still divide ourselves into two species, even though we are monotypic. There are males and females. We see them as different and not equal. Things get better when women get more equality. That is a bit obvious but I think it leads to better results up the road. If it’s a man’s world as they say, then men, your world is a poorly run carnage fest.

You can get all of Rollin's POV right here.

As if you didn’t already have enough nagging reminders out in the real world that you’re getting old, the Internet also has you covered: Twitter is celebrating its seventh anniversary this week, and shows no slowing of taking over the world, 140 characters at a time.

It all began on March 21, 2006, when Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sent out this gem:

That twt - rather, tweet - birthed a social media revolution, pushing the site into top position as an online stream of consciousness for web-goers around the world. Now, for better or for worse, we’d be hard-pressed to envision a world free of inappropriate hashtags, passive-aggressive subtweets and wince-inducing interpretations of the verb “to tweet” (“What did you just twit?” is a frequent quote of older, Internet-challenged relatives).

President Obama’s not having a great week with his critics: first, he got accused of looking like Satan, and now he’s getting flak from a familiar critic, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, for leading an excessively luxurious lifestyle that weighs on the backs of America’s most hard-working, penny-thrifting citizens...or something like that.

Here’s her quote from the Conservative Political Action Conference, where she spoke on Saturday:

“A new book is out talking about the perks and the excess of the $1.4-billion-a-year presidency that we’re paying for. And this is a lifestyle that is one of excess. Now we find out that there are five chefs on Air Force One. There are two projectionists who operate the White House movie theater. They regularly sleep at the White House in order to be readily available in case the first family wants a really, really late show. And I don’t mean to be petty here, but can’t they just push the play button? We are also the ones who are paying for someone to walk the president’s dog, paying for someone to walk the president’s dog? Now, why are we doing that when we can’t even get a disabled veteran into the White House for a White House tour? That isn’t caring!”

Glenn Kessler, the “Fact Checker” columnist for the Washington Post, quickly dismantled Bachmann’s claims: the $1.4 billion number, touted in two books recently published by a conservative authors (The 1.4 Billion Dollar Man was written by a Republican lobbyist) would have to incorporate the costs of the White House’s entire policy staff, as well as the entire budget of the Secret Service, which accounts for more than half of the expenses directly linked to the President. Indeed, I think we can agree that it’s an excessive, uncalled for “perk” for the President to want to make it through his day-to-day without getting shanked on the White House lawn.

• Nadia Shira Cohen/Paulo Siqueira "Motel America"

Some are sad, some are beautiful, get yourself to The New York Times' LENS to check out the amazing images from Nadia Shira Cohen and Paulo Siqueira's project Motel America.

From the write-up:

A young man stands in a swimming pool, eyes covered, shoulders hunched, his head slightly bowed. A child bounces from bed to bed. A dainty green cupcake with confetti sprinkles occupies a place of honor on a paper plate.

These moments are captured in family pictures, much like those taken by countless families on summer road trips, the kind they would share with friends back home. But in this case, the children pictured have no home — they are living in limbo, reduced to scraping by week to week, or day to day, in a seedy motel in Orlando, Fla.

Nadia Shira Cohen and Paulo Siqueira — along with their infant son, Rafa — settled into the Remington Inn motel for several weeks last year to produce “Motel America,” a multimedia project that tracked several families who ended up homeless after illness, unemployment, foreclosure and eviction. In a city where Disney’s commercial fantasy attracts thousands of families each year, they are stuck with no idea of what the future holds.

Today, the Boston Phoenix, an alternative weekly that has been in operation since 1966, announced today that they'd be folding up shop.

The announcement has triggered a number of responses and lamentations, but the one that's struck the deepest chord so far today has been this account by former Tucson Weekly editor Jimmy Boegle, at the Coachella Valley Independent.

In it, he spells out his hopes he still holds for alternative publications in the digital age...and mentions that, once upon a time, Tucson could have lost him to Boston.

From the Coachella Valley Independent:

Diverse media voices are important to a community. I have seen this firsthand; in my hometown of Reno, Nev., I was lucky enough to edit the Reno News & Review in my mid-20s, and watched the arts scene grow in Reno along with the paper. I saw it in Las Vegas, where I worked for CityLife. And I saw it in Tucson, where the Tucson Weekly is, in every way, an important piece of the fabric of the community.

Just like the Phoenix was in Boston. That important piece of fabric just got ripped out of Boston. And in its place will be a gaping hole.

The lesson here for those of us outside of Boston is this: Support good, ethical local media. Good, strong, entertaining journalism can make a community better.

I recently met with a local advertising-agency head; he was kind enough to take the time to allow me to introduce him to the Independent. At one point, our mission statement came up, and I spoke a bit about how I believed in quality reporting and writing, as opposed to the regurgitated-press-release-style of writing that’s far, far too prevalent in the Coachella Valley today.

He responded that while creative types like himself appreciate good writing and reporting, most businesses who are spending advertising dollars don’t care; instead, they care about getting their message out to the right customers, period, no matter the quality of what surrounds their ads.

I told him that while I was confident the Independent would indeed be a good fit for his clients’ customers, I was banking on the fact that I believe readers and advertisers still want quality journalism, too.

I hope to God I am right; I am betting my personal financial future on it. While, at first glance, the closure of the Boston Phoenix worries me, Peter Kadzis’ words about applause by readers and local advertisers—combined with the fact that the papers in Portland and Providence live on, and will even be adding staff—give me hope.

Part of why we've made a bit of a big deal regarding Circle K pushing us out in favor of AZ Weekly (which we're sure is a fine publication) is that members of the community that we serve might not get a chance to see content we're producing that the local daily isn't able to replicate, and that this paper out of Phoenix absolutely cannot replicate — at least, not without having someone cut them a check to do so.

It's why, in the wake of that loss, we've produced a map that directs you where to go around town to pick up copies of our paper, more often than not at local small businesses.

As a community, we're all in this together. And though there may be a number of folks out there who don't dig all of our content, who may be offended by some of the stories we run, the fact remains that we've got to try to support what's local—this city deserves at least that much.

If not, then Tucson's liable to be overtaken by Phoenix — and honestly, who the Hell wants that?

In our cover story in this week's issue on children's book illustrator and writer Adam Rex, we promised you the video that features the large paper mache head on the cover and inside. Its also just a fun video with Rex and author Mac Barnett ironing out the "differences" in their relationship. The due recently collaborated on a book published last year, Chloe and the Lion.

Enjoy:

Just over two months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., PBS is asking America, “Where do we go from here?” with special programming aptly named “After Newtown.” The series of specials, first announced by the network in January, began airing Monday and will continue through Feb. 22.

Mixing documentary-style reports with commentaries on gun control, mental health and possible prevention of similar acts of violence in the future, “After Newtown” was designed expose the many relevant issues surrounding the shooting, as well as resonate emotionally with viewers still seeking closure, according to a PBS press release:

“This week of specials gives PBS the opportunity to take an in-depth and thoughtful look at the issues the Newtown tragedy laid bare,” said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming for PBS. “As we mourn the lives lost in Newtown, it is important to present the facts, the science, and the history behind the issues to provide information and context as we collectively look at how better to protect and serve our communities.”

I'd actually been waiting for Stephen Colbert to do the Harlem Shake ever since I saw Jon Stewart's version of it.

Stewart's "getting ditched" twist to the newest trending "dance" is pretty funny. But I've always been a little more entertained by The Colbert Report than by the Daily Show.

So I was really disappointed when I saw this video:

I'll give Colbert credit for doing the actual Harlem Shake. You know, the one where you pop your shoulders side to side and swing your arms. Everyone else seems to think the Harlem Shake is a pelvic thrust for some weird reason.

But Colbert's version of the Harlem Shake is literally just him awkwardly dancing by himself then people joining him. I expected some weird props or a twist to it like Stewart's. I'm not sure what was up with the making of this video but Colbert could have definitely given his fans something much funnier than this generic Harlem Shake.

For an organization that has been hemorrhaging money for years, has nearly half the workforce it did in 2008 and whose quality continues to decrease on a daily basis, the Arizona Daily Star sure does love to spend money on frivolous litigation.

Last week the Star — and, according to the filing, rumpled environmental reporter Tony Davis — sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in federal court over documents that the Star requested to review regarding the infamous Macho B jaguar story. The suit cites the Freedom of Information Act and that the act was violated when, after requesting the documents nearly two years ago, they were released last year missing some pages and having lots of redactions on others.

For those not keeping up with the Macho B tale (which is impossible if you read the Star; you'd think the animal was Lute Olson's pet), it entails the capture in 2009 of what was then believed to be the last known jaguar in the U.S. The animal ended up dying, and $3 million (looking for places to slash the federal budget? start here, please) was spent investigating what, if anything, was done wrong.