You’ve still got a week before your journo-sweetie will need an actual Valentine’s Day gift. But we’ve got you covered if you haven’t come up with the perfect way to say you mean the world to me. The 10,000 Words team put together our annual round up of valentines just for the journalist in your life.

This is our fifth year at it, so if you don’t find the appropriate sentiment in this year’s batch, definitely check out the previous editions for even more journalism love: 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

Got a good valentine idea that we missed? Share it with us @10000words using the hashtag #journolove and maybe we’ll add it in or use it next year.

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It’s that time of year when even the most hard-hearted journalist puts off deadline for a few sugary conversation hearts of questionable grammar. If you’re lucky enough to have a sweetheart to send those “Be Mine” confections to, bundle them with our annual run down of journo-inspired Valentines cards brought to you by the 10,000 words team and our readers.

Feel free to distribute any of these, along with any from previous editions: here, here and here. And don’t forget to let us know if you have an awesome idea we didn’t include, @10000Words with the hashtag #journolove or in the comments below. Maybe we’ll use it next year!

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This is the time of year news organizations pump out end-of-year “Best Of” lists highlighting the top stories from readers or editors. I wanted to pass on a few of my favorite end-of-year best lists related to journalism and news. Please submit your favorites I missed in the comments, so we can all enjoy it.

The 20 Unhappiest People You Meet In The Comments Sections Of Year-End Lists

This list from NPR made me physically LOL when I first read it. It’s spot on when it comes to the reaction you see in the comments sections of many stories, not just the year-end lot. It’s appropriate fodder to start with as you wade into other year-end lists.

Top 10 Longreads

The Longreads founder pulls together his team’s favorite of the longform stories and articles this year. Bonus: Readers submitted their own best of 2011 lists as well. These should keep you busy until next year’s list comes out.

The year in media errors and corrections features Osama/Obama, Giffords

Regret The Error is always one of my personal favorite end-of-year roundups. It makes me feel better about any errors I may have let slip when I see the truly colossal oopsies that made the air or print. This year’s listing — including never-to-be-lived-down classics like “Obama Bin Laden is dead” — doesn’t disappoint.

The 50 Funniest Headlines Of 2011

From a “horse herpes outbreak” to “meatball sandwich horseplay” Buzzfeed’s roundup is amusing even if it’s impossible to be all-inclusive. It’s probably not surprising that a surprising number of these have to do with food or animals, is it?

The Ten Worst Media Disasters of 2011

In case you’re more a fan of the worst lists than the bests, here’s a round-up of media moments some important people would like to put behind them as they head into a new year. Read it and resolve not to make this list next year.

Top Ten Comedic News Stories of 2011

If you enjoy CSPAN and CNN as much as the not-news shows on that other C-channel — Comedy Central — then this list will make you grin. It’s the top 10 funny stories this year from “political comedian” Will Durst.

The Year in News 2011

The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism says the economy topped the 2011 news cycle, taking up some 20 percent of the news hole — up from 14 percent in 2010. Mideast unrest came in a distant second, followed by the 2012 Presidential election. Read the full study to see what else rounded out the top stories of the year based on coverage.

Finally, if you haven’t had enough, Fast Company made an amazing mashup of 2011 best and worst lists. It’s a bit overwhelming but more than a bit worth grazing.

Over the years, satirical news organization The Onion has not only poked fun at local, national, international, sports and entertainment news, but also at the people who cover that news — journalists. This is a collection of some of the best articles, videos and commentary about newspapers and TV media from The Onion.
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I’m not going to open up the whole “print is dead” can of worms, but I will point to a statistic I learned from Ken Doctor’s latest piece on Nieman Lab: Print ad revenue has faced 21 consecutive quarters of decline (year over year) in the U.S. That’s saying something. So, on a lighthearted and slightly tangential note, this is a list of five projects worth buying a newspaper for — and you can do them all while you read news on your iPad.

Newspaper gift bags

Everyone knows you can wrap a gift box with newspaper, but for those of you who want to go the extra mile, newspaper gift bags are an adorable and fun  little treat, especially when the gift is coming from a journalist. Said bags would be ideal for newsroom gift exchanges, the birthday of a journalist, or even as a desk decoration. Jessica Jones, a designer who blogs at How About Orange, has the step-by-step guide. Read more