Last Saturday at Oulu University, Maija Saviniemi defended her dissertation entitled ”It’s Embarrassing if the Professionals Make Clumsy Grammar Mistakes”. The dissertation deals with the knowledge and practices of editorial staff concerning language planning, which is the deliberate effort to influence how language is used. Her research material is based on 232 responses to a questionnaire sent to Finnish newspapers and the Finnish Broadcasting Company. In newsrooms, major problems with usage often involve compounds and commas, and the most widely used language aid is the spelling checker. Local dialects and colloquialisms are acceptable in interviews and direct quotations, but for reporting the news, journalists stick to standard language. The attitude of the respondents is positive: 97 percent consider language planning important. Good language is necessary for quality writing and for successful interaction with readers. And speaking of language planning, when Saviniemi’s questionnaire asked how often respondents turned to language aids—often, fairly often, not often, and rarely—they asked what “often” meant.