Roblimo Interviews New Red Hat CEO Whitehurst

When Red Hat named Jim Whitehurst as its new CEO, many in the open source community wondered, "Huh?" But Whitehurst made himself available to reporters and bloggers and quickly gave everyone an inside look at who he was, what he knew and what he had planned for the open source powerhouse.

Which is why this interview by Robin 'Roblimo' Miller is so important.

The majority of Whitehurst's "rainbow tour" when he was announced was conveyed through words on paper or on a screen. Roblimo caught Whitehurst in Orland at JBoss World and put him on tape -- uncut and unplugged. The video adds to what we already know about Whitehurst, giving us a more personal connection to the man who will lead one of the industry's most visible brands...warts and all.

It's an example of how the interactivity of the Web is changing the face of journalism. Is Roblimo a broadcast reporter? I'd claim not (although I could be wrong). But it was simple enough to throw a video camera on a tripod to capture the questions he was going to ask Whitehurst anyway. And we're all the richer for him doing so.