The editor of telegraph.co.uk was the bearer of good news in Cardiff today.

Richard Burton, a hack of thirty years, declared that you do not need to be a geek to succeed in online journalism. This is great news. For weeks we have been hearing that journalists will be replaced by robots or by those pesky blogger types, armed with a fancy phone and unsubstantiated opinions.

Burton may be a journalist in the traditional sense, but he is way ahead of his time in terms of his embracement of new media and his ability to exploit it for financial gain. His dealings with BP, Morgan Stanley and Google are examples of a great lateral thinker, however dubious they may appear morally.

The most compelling aspect of Burton’s talk, and indeed his character, is the fact that he gets a real enjoyment from his job and furthermore, can articulate this to an audience. His tales of regularly defeating his online rivals with speed and innovation were compelling for their sheer enthusiasm. “When I stop having fun (with his ‘toy’) I will give up, write a book and let you guys take over,” he said. I Couldn’t agree more Rich.