Do you feel threatened by blogs & their capacity to break news stories?

Blogs are just another publishing medium. They are no faster than most modern websites in terms of the publication process, so the question is whether some bloggers are better news hounds than more traditional journalists, to which the answer is of course, yes some are. As both news reporter and blogger myself, I don’t feel threatened by bloggers any more than any other journalists. Sometimes they’ll scoop us, and sometimes we’ll scoop them.

How much do you use blogs to source news stories versus PRs?

I rarely use blogs as news sources, but I do use them regularly as sources of informed opinion.

Have you ever sourced a news story via Twitter?

No, not yet, but I am quite new to Twitter and can see that it has potential – again, it’s just another publishing medium.

Do you prefer Twitter for personal or professional communications?

I only use it today to spread the word about a blog or another piece we’ve written, so today, it’s exclusively for professional use.

Did you have a favourite tech story in 2008?

I think the way that Obama’s campaign team used social networking to gather donations from over three million people – twice as many as any presidential candidate in the past – was the most iconic tech-related story of 2009. Biggest bandwagon jumper? Microsoft unveils its cloud strategy, Azure.

What do you think will be the hottest tech issue in 2009?

I’d have to name a few: desktop virtualisation, green/sustainable IT, open source on the rise, social networking, doing more with less and Sun Microsystems getting bought.

What is the worst PR pitch you have ever had?

I received an email mistakenly addressed to an editor on a rival magazine – a good start – saying that although they were aware I don’t like football, was I interested in going to see Southampton versus Derby County, with the chance to catch up on a recent news announcement with the vendor’s regional sales manager in the hospitality suite, during the game.