John C Abell

I was a journalist at two of the world's most impactful media companies during the most innovative period for journalism since the Guttenberg era. Now, I'm at a third — and the innovation is just getting started.

I was Wired.com's New York Bureau Chief for five years. Before that I spent 26 years at Reuters, where my career was evenly split between pre-and post-internet. After a very traditional "old media" trajectory I built the internet's first real-time news feeds, created Reuters' multimedia desk and was the founding editor of reuters.com.

When I started at Reuters the Portabubble was the road warrior's tool of choice. My first mobile reporting tool was a TRS-200. Now, in a pinch, all I really need is an iPhone.

I have been a reporter, editor and bureau chief, tech columnist and a consultant on journalism best practices. I was running Reuters New Media’s first joint venture — the Reuters/Variety Entertainment Report — when, in the early '90s, the internet started being something you didn't just see in quotes.

The day Mosaic was released was positively life affirming, in a Roy Neary sort of way. It was clear the world was changing at an exhilarating pace — and that I had to be part of it.

A chance to help create the original reuters.com was my ticket across the digital divide. But the trip from mainstream to online was more pivot than leap.

The old days were punctuated with all sorts of soul-searching, student congress debates on "new media journalism" and the new ethics, practices and roles.

A few things became resoundingly clear to me:

* Good journalism has nothing to do with the medium.
* If the medium is the message, you're not doing it right.
* Nothing is more important than aspiring to be correct.

Specialties: Concise writing, real-time news, recognizing everything old is new again