Ron Walker visits the Daily Telegraph

The weather has turned in London, and while it ain't exactly warm at least the sun is out which makes the transition from summer in Sydney not as tough as it was in January when I was last here.

This is something of a fact finding mission. A few chats with the right people, organising bureaucratic stuff for our new business which will launch here mid-year; looking at office space etc etc. In the process I've been fortunate to visit a number of media shops. One of the most interesting has been the Daily Telegraph's newsroom. I gotta say it's impressive. A lot has been written about it in the UK media, so Google it.

A bit of gossip: the day before I was there Ron Walker had been in the building, sitting in on news conference, touring the floor, hobnobbing with the big cheeses. Does this have something to do with the imminent newsroom moves at the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age? Is it about digital integration or commercial real estate (the Telegraph has a uniquely large floor space, something which is hard to come by)? Or perhaps he was just dropping in on some mates?

There's a fair bit that Fairfax could conceivably learn from the Daily Telegraph's experience, but I wonder if the Chairman of the company is the right person for Fairfax to have on the case?