what should I get a journalist for graduation?

[Bill McBlueState]

My brother's graduating from college in a couple days with a degree in newspaper journalism, and minors in sociology and poli sci.

He'll be going to Springfield, Illinois for a grad program in public affairs reporting.

Any suggestions for a graduation gift?

[bif]

1. A compact digital recorder

that would come in handy for interviews.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

2. Balls of steel and a drive to get the truth out

barring that a laptop

[qb]

3. A subscription to "The Guardian" (UK)

If he only reads U.S. papers, he'll never be exposed to journalism in real life.

[LuLu550]

4. Palm pilot

or the like

[veganwitch]

5. Mont Blanc pen

my mom got one for my cousin when he got his masters in literature.

[Bertha Venation]

6. a very fine pen

here's a site to start at: http://www.levenger.com

I mean, a very, very nice pen, whether a fountain pen or not. A fabulous gift for a writer.

[Fleshdancer]

7. A nice pen? Engrave a good quote on it about truth

Then again, he might receive a couple of pens since it's so obvious. Don't journalists keep a portfolio of the work they've done when going on job interviews? Maybe a nice portfolio case with his initials on it?

[Robb]

9. A job! (rimshot)

Seriously, the good pen is a great idea! For an engraving, I'm a fan of Audentes Fortuna Juvat, Latin for "fortune favors the bold".

[no_hypocrisy]

8. Any book that is a reference. A legal dictionary, a good thesaurus,

Bartlet's Book of Familiar Quotations, etc.

Or a good biography of Edward R. Murrow.

[freetobegay]

10. Ethics!

eom

[eyesroll]

11. Perhaps a membership into a professional organization?

Society of Professional Journalists
http://www.spj.org /

A subscription to a relevant publication is always good, too. These sort of things are great psychologically -- emphasizing the "professional" part.

Here's a good index of journalism associations and publications:
http://reporter.umd.edu/journ.htm

[Loonman]

12. Kevlar armor

If he's going to be covering Bush.