The world’s most influential tech columnist

Peter High of Forbes.com interviewed Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walter Mossberg about his column, which began in 1991.

Here is an excerpt:

Peter High: Walt, I wanted to begin with the genesis of your journey. Your educational training is in journalism. You were at the Wall Street Journal for 18 years covering national and international affairs before you made a major change professionally and elected to focus on consumer technology with the commencement of your “Personal Technology” column in 1991. How did it occur to you to make this change?

Walt Mossberg: It dates back to 1981 and the purchase of my first computer, a Timex Sinclair. From an early stage, I was hooked. I spent more of my personal time as a tinkerer, training myself.  What I found as I looked for technology advice was a dearth of technology writing that spoke to average users, not just hobbyists like me. Most of the writing was geared to people who were much more sophisticated, and it tended to use jargon that was foreign. I saw the need for something for a broader audience.

PH: Was it controversial when you proposed the idea?

WM: I originally proposed the column in 1990, when I was covering national security. With the end of the cold war, and a lot of the changes that were afoot in Eastern Europe, the idea was accepted; the timing was not right given my focus at the time. A year later, however, the timing was better, and “Personal Technology” was born.

Even more interesting was the reaction from friends and government leaders with whom I was regularly in touch at the time. I recall telling then-Secretary of State James Baker about this change, and he could not fathom why I would want to do it.

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