Better to blog in the morning says C4's Snow

A ludicrously long time since my last posting for which I apologise to my legions of followers, who have no doubt been logging onto this blog and left deflated to see that it was dormant. I've been, well, a bit busy but now back up and running on the blog front. I should take a leaf out of Channel 4 news legend/icon John Snow who told us on a visit to Medway on Friday that he had to blog first thing in the morning at a quiet time because there was no way he'd be able to fit it in later once the news agenda for the day was in full flow. You got the feeling during his talk at the Bob Friend Memorial Lecture, hosted by the Centre for Journalism at the University of Kent at Medway, that it was, basically, a chore. His bosses insisted he did it daily because it brings in 'traffic' - a word he used with thinly-disguised disdain. But here was no luddite, no technophobe, no journalistic has-been hankering for the days of typewriters and telex machines. He loves Twitter. A relatively recent recruit to the phenomenon, he confessed he tweeted a lot and found it a valuable tool in sourcing and checking information as well as imparting it (telling his followers what was coming up on the nightly news, for example). An informative and entertaining evening included a question from Medway council chief executive Neil Davies enquiring about his trademark ties to which he replied that it was the only way an older newsreader might fit with a smart new studio set brought in some time ago.

I said I'd been busy and one reason was preparing for an exciting new brief in overseeing our Gravesend and Dartford operations. It is a long way from my first day as a journalist, stepping into the dusty corridors of the Isle of Thanet Gazette some 26 years ago. Well said it is a long way - about as far as you can get without leaving the county (which I haven't in that time). But there's still an excitement and anticipation for any journalist tackling a new area. First impressions, are, well, dangerous so I'll reserve them.But for starters I like the fact that the car park at the St George's Shopping Centre multi-storey charged me a quid for about three hours. The High Street is beautiful, even on a dreary Monday morning in February.  I've been recommended an Italian cafe called Leonardos for exquisite spag bol, apparently so I look forward to trying that out. Next stop Dartford.