IT media vs. newspapers: Spot news

One of the many things I like about working in IT media is the dearth of what newspapers call "spot news." When you work for a paper, there's always a cloud hanging over your head -- a cloud that will call you, no matter where you are and what you doing, and tell you to go cover a breaking story. Going to a fire scene, for example, is the only way a reporter can talk to the witnesses, victims and officials needed to put together a good story.

In IT, there are no fire scenes. When I get home from work, I don't have to worry about my boss calling me in the middle of the night. It's a nice feeling. But even though there's no spot news, there IS breaking news. And every once in a while I do have to scramble to cover a story when I'd rather be cooking dinner or watching the Red Sox lose.

Such was the case Thursday, when just after 5 p.m., The Wall Street Journal reported that VMware was in talks to buy Novell's SUSE Linux business. (Quick primer: VMware is the biggest company in the virtualization market, they're getting challenged by Microsoft, and SUSE Linux is an operating system a la Windows. An acquisition would have major effects on this feud.) So instead of tidying up the apartment and catching up on my DVR ("House Hunters International"), I spent the next hour-plus frantically writing up a blog on what a VMware-Novell acquisition would mean for the market.

Honestly, I kinda missed the rush of writing a breaking story, which I haven't got to do nearly as often since I left the newspaper business three years ago. But then again, I got to do it all from the comfort of my home office, without even picking up the phone, let alone rushing out to the scene of the action. There wasn't even a scene to go to, and it was quite the happy medium for me.