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Dan Collins, the CBSNews.com's senior producer for hard news, co-wrote a book about Rudy Giuliani that was published last year. The book, "Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11," which Collins wrote with the Village Voice's Wayne Barrett, is critical of the former mayor.

According to the book's description, "Grand Illusion reveals how Giuliani has revised his own history, casting himself as prescient terror hawk when in fact he ran his administration as if terrorist threats simply did not exist, too distracted by pet projects and turf wars to attend to vital precautions." Booklist writes that "[d]espite his much-vaunted leadership and talk of his prescience to develop a response team after the 1993 attack, Barrett and Collins maintain that Giuliani failed New Yorkers in myriad ways." Publishers Weekly claims that the "Giuliani who emerges from these pages-shrewd, calculating, indomitable-remains an impressive figure, but one that will give voters pause."

I asked Collins if he had any concerns about covering Giuliani in the presidential race in light of his authorship of the book.

"Sure, it's a concern," said Collins. "I've given the staff written instructions to play Giuliani down the middle." Collins says he will continue to edit stories about the candidate. "We're going to go down the middle on all the candidates, Republican or Democratic," he continued. "We've done that since before the book was conceived, while we were writing it, and we'll continue to do that now."

Dan Collins, CBSNews.com's senior producer for hard news, has been with the Web site since the very beginning. Before coming to CBS, he was a reporter for the New York Daily News, a correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, and the City Hall bureau chief for United Press International in New York. He's also the co-author of three books, and is currently working on a book about New York City and the 9/11 attack. Below, he talks about the biggest jerk he ever covered, the sense of self-loathing that's infected journalism, and the sadness he felt writing a story about the findings of the panel that investigated "Memogate."

What do you do at CBS News?

I'm the senior producer who runs the hard news operation at the Web site. I'm responsible for getting the day's most important stories onto the site in a timely fashion. I enjoy my work. The Internet is still kind of a new frontier, and network news brings you into contact with a group of talented, vain and occasionally scary people. So there's not much boredom. It's a round-the-clock operation that runs something like a cross between a cable news channel and a wire service. As paradoxical as it might seem, it's a great job for a procrastinator like me, since nothing can be put off until tomorrow.

What single issue should be covered more at CBS News?

Religion. I confess to only dimly understanding why the work of a Danish cartoonist should touch off violent worldwide protests. I'd like to know more.

Give us a great behind the scenes story.

Well, one of my toughest days at the Web site came about 15 month ago. My boss, Mike Sims, called me at home around 5 a.m. and told me to come into the office. There was no need to discuss the reason. For weeks, we'd all been waiting for the report of an independent panel that investigated "Memogate," the disputed 60 Minutes II story about President Bush’s National Guard service. CBS had decided to use the Web site to deliver what proved to be extremely depressing news.

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The good news: This week's "10 Plus 1" subject is Dan Collins. The bad news: You only have a few hours left to send in a question or two for him, since we'll be posting the interview tomorrow. Dan is the senior producer in charge of hard news for CBSNews.com, which means he plays a large role in deciding which stories go on the site. So send in your questions for Dan – the clock's ticking!

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This week's 10 Plus 1 participant, Dan Collins, has been with CBSNews.com since its inception a little more than seven years ago, and he's spent much of the past six years in his current position as senior producer in charge of hard news. (In 2000, he spent a year running the site's election unit.) Dan's background is mainly in print journalism: He worked as a reporter for the New York Daily News and a correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, and was the City Hall bureau chief for United Press International in New York. He's also co-authored three books and is currently working on a book about New York City and the 9/11 attack. Do you have a question for Dan on the differences between the print and TV worlds? Want to know what goes into his decisions about what stories appear on the site? Curious about one of his books? Post a question for Dan in comments below or email it to us, and we'll pick one and pose it to him in addition to the standard 10.

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