Teen Blogger Has All the Apple Scoops

By Barbara E. Hernandez

| Wednesday, Jun 13, 2012 | Updated 1:54 PM PDT

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WWDC attendees look at the new MacBook Pro that is displayed following the keynote address at the Apple 2012 World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) at Moscone West on June 11.

Mark Gurman, a writer for 9to5Mac, had the biggest scoops on Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference --- and he was only in high school. So how did he get them? Apparently by being an old-school reporter.

Forbes gushed about Gurman:

He clammed up when I asked him where he gets his stories. But [editor Seth] Weintraub -- who hired Gurman two years ago when he realized the teenager had his finger on Apple's pulse -- was more forthcoming. Some of his stories come from sources inside Apple, but most are based on what used to be called old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting -- poring over Apple's published documents and building a network of Apple developers and parts suppliers that he hammers relentlessly.

Not surprisingly, Gurman is a little concerned that all the attention will make Apple tougher to cover. And others are noticing that the 18-year-old has been getting pretty hefty scoops -- one would-be reporter even called Apple's senior vice president Phil Schiller and asked for information on new products claiming to be Gurman (nice try, guy!)

Gurman is being a good reporter -- finding sources, locating information when it can't be gotten from the original source and scanning documents. It doesn't matter if he's in high school or a 10-year veteran, those skills can make you great.