Didja watch the Brian Burke news conference on Saturday when he was sworn in as the new executive saviour of the Toronto Maple Leafs? Didja wonder why only three questions were asked in public? Here's why.

From The Globe and Mail's William Houston:

... There is also an intriguing subtext that involves new media versus old media.

The Toronto Star's Damien Cox alluded to it yesterday on TSN.

It involves uninformed reporters at news conferences exploiting questions asked by those who are informed.

When the smart questions are asked, the uninformed, who never ask a question, switch on their microphones or cameras to get the benefit of the information.

The issue is exacerbated in the digital age, in which the answer to a print reporter's question in a public forum is posted online almost immediately, hours before his newspaper is published.

"My impression, and this is certainly how I feel, is that we ink-stained wretches are no longer as willing to perform as stage actors for live broadcasts of press conferences by providing questions and, in some cases, the dramatic tension," Cox wrote in an e-mail message yesterday.

"Essentially, the feeling is, 'Why should I ask a question for which the answer will be provided immediately to a live audience, thereby essentially scooping myself?' "

Globe and Mail hockey writer Tim Wharnsby said yesterday it makes no sense for him to ask a question, the answer to which will be aired on television that night well before his story is read the next morning.

Hockey journalists, both print and broadcast, were able to withhold their questions on Saturday because Burke was available for one-on-one interviews when the formal news conference was over.