I wrote yesterday about the says vs. said controversy in newswriting.

Today I'll take on Wednesday vs. yesterday.

Most newspaper copy favors Sunday, Monday and Tuesday over yesterday, today and tomorrow.

We've shifted to using today when we can, because it highlights the freshness and urgency of web reporting. It also reflects another major difference between paper and digital. Print articles, once published, usually were never heard from again. Web articles, on the other hand, live on in eternity thanks to Google.

It's confusing to find an article from November 15, 2006 and read:

"Chicago Public Schools announced a pilot program Tuesday to introduce clean-burning ethanol-based diesel fuel for some of the district's schoolbuses."

You'd have to pull out your 2006 calendar, locate November 15, and work your way back to the preceding Tuesday to figure out when the pilot program was announced.

On the other hand, imagine the article read this way:

"Chicago Public Schools announced a pilot program yesterday to introduce clean-burning ethanol-based diesel fuel for some of the district's schoolbuses."

You'd know just by looking at the date stamp that it happened on the 14th. It's even less confusing if the article says 'today', and best of all if it says 'this afternoon'.