I was in New Orleans when it happened April 13, when the powers that be at the Associated Press announced that “hopefully” was OK to use however anybody wanted. The audience of American Copy Editors Society members may have been the only group in America who even knew that “hopefully” had standards of usage. But I was hungry for lunch. Maybe my news judgment was skewed by my hunger. I didn’t find that style rule change to be worth a story in the Washington Post. Hmm. The 225 commenters (so far) couldn’t be all wrong, I hope.

AP’s approval of ‘hopefully’ symbolizes larger debate over language – The Washington Post.