With Project Director Bob Eggington, he led the team that launched the service in 1997,[1] and held the post of editor-in-chief of BBC News Interactive, which also encompassed interactive television news, until 2004.
[citation needed] Originally, many had doubts about the feasibility of the web service, including Smartt's friend and BBC World Editor John Simpson, who described the project as sounding "quite nerdy".
[citation needed] Mike started his career at the Corporation at "BBC Radio Humberside" in the early 1970s as a News Producer and very occasional rock music DJ, following some years learning the craft of journalism on newspapers.
[citation needed] Smartt, who spent more than 30 years at the BBC, was succeeded by Pete Clifton at News Interactive.
He now consults, lectures and writes about journalism and interactive news and is also editor-in-chief of World Press Photos Online magazine Enter.