diff --git a/tests/__init__.py b/tests/__init__.py
index 97cea29f..64d56ea8 100644
--- a/tests/__init__.py
+++ b/tests/__init__.py
@@ -16,3 +16,8 @@ import logging
 
 log = logging.getLogger()
 log.setLevel('DEBUG')
+# if nose didn't already attach a log handler, add one here
+if not log.handlers:
+    handler = logging.StreamHandler()
+    handler.setFormatter(logging.Formatter('%(asctime)s %(levelname)s [%(module)s:%(lineno)s]: %(message)s'))
+    log.addHandler(handler)