The city's technology beat has largely been owned local journalists at the PI -- more specifically, John Cook and Todd Bishop. For as long as I've lived here, John has done a great job writing about the early stage technology start-up scene and Todd has done a great job while focusing on Microsoft.
Today, I happened to be speaking with John Cook and learned that both he and Todd have left the PI for the greener pastures of the Puget Sound Business Journal. In my opinion, this is a coup for the business journal and disastrous for the PI. I asked John why he left -- and he wouldn't give me a straight answer. Reading between the lines, I'd have to say that the PI just blew it and wouldn't accommodate some basic financial and editorial freedoms that would retain John and Todd. As someone who's worked with old media newspaper companies, they don't seem able to get out of their own way even when their lunch is being eaten and their foundation is cracking underneath. You can check out John and Todd's new site here....it's supposedly launching in a couple weeks.