Rupert Goodwins' Diary
You may be aware that since his preferment to the News Editorhood of ZDNet UK, Graeme 'Scoop' Wearden has lost his middle name. It was felt lacking in gravitas for a chap of his exalted stature -- and besides, as he has now discovered, the last thing a news editor has any time for is writing news.
Yet it has its own rewards, one of which anointed his brow today like soft rain in desert heat.
Dan Illet, security honcho, did a story on Steve Linford of Spamhaus being cross about MCI hosting websites that distributed spamming tools -- 'for how long must we nurture this canker in our midsts' being the general nature of the piece. He then heard that the London Internet Exchange had some views on this sort of thing, phoned 'em up, got some quotes in a quick interview and banged them up. Story number two. Shortly after that, he was surprised to see much the same quotes appear on a LINX press release. "Is this good?" he wondered.
Good? It's excellent. Interesting subject, genuine news and developments to come -- it's a top story, and an example of what every news editor likes doing best: setting the agenda. It certainly put a sparkle in our new news editor's eyes.
It also gives us a new nickname to try out. Graeme "Agenda Bender" Wearden. No guarantees, mind.