He can and will find better things than TWiT. To be honest that was holding him back.
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Tom Merritt Fired from TWiT
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If only Tom Merritt had connections at a company like Google. Hmmmm.. If only YouTube were developing its own shows in its own studio...
If only.
If only.
I'm a big fan of both TWIT and Tom Merritt and listen to several hours of programming per week.
Leo probably feels like he invested too much in building the new studio to see one guy at the desk and three people on Skype. I'm sure Tom realized that moving to LA might cause a problem with the show. I also think that the Buzz Out Loud flavor of the show with a lot of banter, while friendly for long-time fans, might not work for people to take TNT to the next level. It's not the kind of show that I think technology insiders would watch like investors watch CNBC.
My guess is that the TNT audience numbers probably peaked at some point. I know that I haven't felt it to be must-listen-to programming for a while because it's mostly headlines and the analysis is somewhat predictable after you've listened to a bunch of shows.
Leo probably feels like he invested too much in building the new studio to see one guy at the desk and three people on Skype. I'm sure Tom realized that moving to LA might cause a problem with the show. I also think that the Buzz Out Loud flavor of the show with a lot of banter, while friendly for long-time fans, might not work for people to take TNT to the next level. It's not the kind of show that I think technology insiders would watch like investors watch CNBC.
My guess is that the TNT audience numbers probably peaked at some point. I know that I haven't felt it to be must-listen-to programming for a while because it's mostly headlines and the analysis is somewhat predictable after you've listened to a bunch of shows.
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Options in L.A.
I know that Eileen is at Google, but isn't Yahoo starting up their own video service, too? Would Tom go back to CNET/CBS?
Will miss Framerate more than TNT.
I know that Eileen is at Google, but isn't Yahoo starting up their own video service, too? Would Tom go back to CNET/CBS?
Will miss Framerate more than TNT.
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I'm a loooong time TWiT listener/watcher and from the second that Tom announced he was moving to LA the ticker started where something like this was going to happen... to be honest I'm surprised it went this long..
Tech News Today is definitely feels more "disconnected" for me with the host being remote, although they do an admirable job of trying to work around it with Skype, the fact he isn't there is just too obvious, Sarah's performance/interest/attitude has for sure been worse since he moved....
Tom is my favorite voice in podcast land, as he is knowledgable, patient with others, and is easy to listen to.... wherever he lands, I'm sure I'll be listening in....
My biggest disappointment in all this is the end coming to "Frame Rate", while I am only a mild BB fan, I do really enjoy the dynamic between he and Tom and they work really well together.... they mentioned on last night's episode that they'll do something together again, I hope it's Frame Rate-like..
I can't blame Leo or his supposed "ego" for all this, he is trying to build a network to how he sees fit, that's his right.... I do miss years-past Leo a lot, he just seems downright mad/grumpy too much since the new studio, i can only imagine how much $$ they've dumped into the whole network and having to deal with decisions, tough decisions, that need to be made, bridges that have to be burned, and the blow back from said decisions....
Tech News Today is definitely feels more "disconnected" for me with the host being remote, although they do an admirable job of trying to work around it with Skype, the fact he isn't there is just too obvious, Sarah's performance/interest/attitude has for sure been worse since he moved....
Tom is my favorite voice in podcast land, as he is knowledgable, patient with others, and is easy to listen to.... wherever he lands, I'm sure I'll be listening in....
My biggest disappointment in all this is the end coming to "Frame Rate", while I am only a mild BB fan, I do really enjoy the dynamic between he and Tom and they work really well together.... they mentioned on last night's episode that they'll do something together again, I hope it's Frame Rate-like..
I can't blame Leo or his supposed "ego" for all this, he is trying to build a network to how he sees fit, that's his right.... I do miss years-past Leo a lot, he just seems downright mad/grumpy too much since the new studio, i can only imagine how much $$ they've dumped into the whole network and having to deal with decisions, tough decisions, that need to be made, bridges that have to be burned, and the blow back from said decisions....
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So sad
Merritt was only an asset for Twit.
The real core is Leo, as many pointed out above (for the good and the ugly for sure).
Remove Leo from Twit, and boom, the thing collapses.
I agree that Elgan is nothing more than Leo's minion in a way. A good boomer yes man, far from hosting the seksi software required to grab a wider and younger audience.
I agree regarding Sarah, I bet we won't see her for long now on TNT.
As far as we can tell, ads money is so far literally raining on Twit. Like many companies in the growing side of the business curve, they may draw plans considering it'll be like that till the end of times. This could give birth to the worst decisions. Like reduce Leo's airtime or deliver more produced shows, with less "real TV" time. A bullet on their core business signature VS competition. See what I mean?
I wonder which % of the TNT audience will Merritt pull off Twit?
I'm curious.
Sorry for my english, I'm not a native.
Merritt was only an asset for Twit.
The real core is Leo, as many pointed out above (for the good and the ugly for sure).
Remove Leo from Twit, and boom, the thing collapses.
I agree that Elgan is nothing more than Leo's minion in a way. A good boomer yes man, far from hosting the seksi software required to grab a wider and younger audience.
I agree regarding Sarah, I bet we won't see her for long now on TNT.
As far as we can tell, ads money is so far literally raining on Twit. Like many companies in the growing side of the business curve, they may draw plans considering it'll be like that till the end of times. This could give birth to the worst decisions. Like reduce Leo's airtime or deliver more produced shows, with less "real TV" time. A bullet on their core business signature VS competition. See what I mean?
I wonder which % of the TNT audience will Merritt pull off Twit?
I'm curious.
Sorry for my english, I'm not a native.
Tom and Brian are going to both leave Framerate and start a show elsewhere. I wonder when Brian pulls out of TWiT all together. While I don't like the crowd that follows him he does bring in ratings when he appears. So Leo won't be happy to lose the viewers as the cult following will trail Brian anywhere.
I read this thread with interest and surprise (at the headline). I haven't listened to the TWiT network for almost 2 years now, since I quit cold turkey from being a regular subscriber/listener to several shows (TWiT, Macbreak, Security Now, TNT, WW, The Tech Guy, TWiG).
I quit due to a few reasons:
-although I'm the biggest tech nerd, I'm a professional musician and I felt I was dedicating way to much time per day to listening to tech shows;
-the ads. Since 2007, the number and length of ads in the shows has gone up considerably. TWiT got to the point where there were 160 seconds of ad before the actual show started. (This show sponsored by.... and by... And by.. AND by..=bye-bye)
-quality of commentary: I felt that far, far too often, the hosts/guests (save a few, like Tom Merrit) were almost clueless about the tech they were talking about.
I started listening to Gruber and Marco instead. (and No Agenda - ITM)
I quit due to a few reasons:
-although I'm the biggest tech nerd, I'm a professional musician and I felt I was dedicating way to much time per day to listening to tech shows;
-the ads. Since 2007, the number and length of ads in the shows has gone up considerably. TWiT got to the point where there were 160 seconds of ad before the actual show started. (This show sponsored by.... and by... And by.. AND by..=bye-bye)
-quality of commentary: I felt that far, far too often, the hosts/guests (save a few, like Tom Merrit) were almost clueless about the tech they were talking about.
I started listening to Gruber and Marco instead. (and No Agenda - ITM)
And this is a Mac RUmor how?
No one thought - least of all Tom - that although while Hosting a show remotely is entirely possible, leading a team remotely was not considered much of a great idea than it was an experiment - a "we'll see how it goes" idea (Tom's actual words, over 6 months ago).
As with Mike Elgan, we'll see.
This wasn;t a Leo ego thing (any more than it was an Eric Lanigan thing) - look at Mike Elgan, he is highly regarded in his field, is much more journalist than Tom has been (in tech news), longer career. Mike is a right fit.
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Uh, an important side note here: Tom's TNT contract will not be renewed. Nothing of Frame Rate is changing. Absolutely nothing. Frame Rate is on the 2014 schedule and is expected to continue with Tom and that other guy (hehe)
From Leo himself "...we're not going to renew Tom's contract as host of TNT....";
AS HOST OF TNT. Says NOTHING about any other show Tom is involved with.
No one thought - least of all Tom - that although while Hosting a show remotely is entirely possible, leading a team remotely was not considered much of a great idea than it was an experiment - a "we'll see how it goes" idea (Tom's actual words, over 6 months ago).
As with Mike Elgan, we'll see.
This wasn;t a Leo ego thing (any more than it was an Eric Lanigan thing) - look at Mike Elgan, he is highly regarded in his field, is much more journalist than Tom has been (in tech news), longer career. Mike is a right fit.
----------
Uh, an important side note here: Tom's TNT contract will not be renewed. Nothing of Frame Rate is changing. Absolutely nothing. Frame Rate is on the 2014 schedule and is expected to continue with Tom and that other guy
(hehe)From Leo himself "...we're not going to renew Tom's contract as host of TNT....";
AS HOST OF TNT. Says NOTHING about any other show Tom is involved with.
I find it difficult to watch when the host/lead is remote rather than in the big chair. Just doesn't feel right.
Uh, an important side note here: Tom's TNT contract will not be renewed. Nothing of Frame Rate is changing. Absolutely nothing. Frame Rate is on the 2014 schedule and is expected to continue with Tom and that other guy
From Leo himself "...we're not going to renew Tom's contract as host of TNT....";
AS HOST OF TNT. Says NOTHING about any other show Tom is involved with.
He said on his blog:
"Thursday evening Leo very kindly changed his mind about Frame Rate but I politely declined."
TWIT: The Republican Party of Tech Podcasting
Clearly, there is more to this story here.
The irony is that--despite Leo's progressive political views--he is building the Republican Party of tech podcasting: focused on old white guys with less and less appeal to those under 50. The This Week in Tech show increasingly reverts to a steady stream of old guys with a token woman every once in a while. In the past year or so, I would count the appearances of Natali Morris (2 times) and Christina Warren as the better This Week in Tech shows that outmatched tired appearances of Jerry Pournelle talking again about how he sells his back catalog. I don't see Mike Elgan changing the old white guys trajectory.
I watch or listen about 10 hours of TWIT podcasts per week, but I find the noise-to-signal ratio is just climbing. TNT was more tightly focused and moved along.
Tom Merritt would be crazy not to go off and build his own network (and not just some YouTube channel). Works hard, likable on air, and has insights and a point-of-view. I would invest.
Clearly, there is more to this story here.
The irony is that--despite Leo's progressive political views--he is building the Republican Party of tech podcasting: focused on old white guys with less and less appeal to those under 50. The This Week in Tech show increasingly reverts to a steady stream of old guys with a token woman every once in a while. In the past year or so, I would count the appearances of Natali Morris (2 times) and Christina Warren as the better This Week in Tech shows that outmatched tired appearances of Jerry Pournelle talking again about how he sells his back catalog. I don't see Mike Elgan changing the old white guys trajectory.
I watch or listen about 10 hours of TWIT podcasts per week, but I find the noise-to-signal ratio is just climbing. TNT was more tightly focused and moved along.
Tom Merritt would be crazy not to go off and build his own network (and not just some YouTube channel). Works hard, likable on air, and has insights and a point-of-view. I would invest.
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Petaluma: Headquarters of the Republican Party of Tech Podcasting
Clearly, there is more to this story here.
The irony is that--despite Leo's progressive political views--he is building the Republican Party of tech podcasting: focused on old white guys with less and less appeal to those under 50. The This Week in Tech show increasingly reverts to a steady stream of old guys with a token woman every once in a while. In the past year or so, I would count the appearances of Natali Morris (2 times) and Christina Warren as the better This Week in Tech shows that outmatched tired appearances of Jerry Pournelle talking again about how he sells his back catalog. I don't see Mike Elgan changing the old white guys trajectory.
I watch or listen about 10 hours of TWIT podcasts per week, but I find the noise-to-signal ratio is just climbing. TNT was more tightly focused and moved along.
Tom Merritt would be crazy not to go off and build his own network (and not just some YouTube channel). Works hard, likable on air, and has insights and a point-of-view. I would invest.
Clearly, there is more to this story here.
The irony is that--despite Leo's progressive political views--he is building the Republican Party of tech podcasting: focused on old white guys with less and less appeal to those under 50. The This Week in Tech show increasingly reverts to a steady stream of old guys with a token woman every once in a while. In the past year or so, I would count the appearances of Natali Morris (2 times) and Christina Warren as the better This Week in Tech shows that outmatched tired appearances of Jerry Pournelle talking again about how he sells his back catalog. I don't see Mike Elgan changing the old white guys trajectory.
I watch or listen about 10 hours of TWIT podcasts per week, but I find the noise-to-signal ratio is just climbing. TNT was more tightly focused and moved along.
Tom Merritt would be crazy not to go off and build his own network (and not just some YouTube channel). Works hard, likable on air, and has insights and a point-of-view. I would invest.
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The YouTube video is classic Leo: Talk about himself, ramble, talk about himself more, ramble, Lisa rambles, talk about himself...
TechTV was an incredible channel. I used to record most shows with ReplayTV and transfer to a laptop, then watch on my daily flights.
TWiT podcasts entertained me for a couple of years. Leo and many of the shows became stale to me. I do enjoy Security Now and Padre's Enterprise show once in a while.
Same here, it has become one of my favorite shows. That and when John C jerks his chain on twit. When Leo isn't being political I can watch but when his politics comes out I tune out.
I felt that twit started to suffer once it became known about Leo's marriage problems. His wealth started to become a bigger story and various financial decisions started controlling the shows. In addition I've grown tired of the myriad of sexual innuendo jokes that he tells.
In the end, it came down to this: if Tom Merritt could still broadcast from the TWiT "Brickhouse" studios in Petaluma, CA, this whole issue would have never come up in the first place.
How many shows does he need to do? Plus Leo does to many shows and they all sounds the same.
End of the line for me as a donator
I too have been listening and donating monthly for years. (donations ended yesterday)
Over time I've cut WAY back on my consumption of TWiT content for a lot of reasons.
TNT changed when they moved from the cottage then changed again when Tom went remote. I admit I liked it better when he was in-house but he's made it work. Sarah on the other hand is always in her dining room or traveling or stuck somewhere or late and that is apparently ok.
Mike as a News Director? Sounds good. Mike as an anchor? jury is out
I find him boring quite honestly.
Tom maintained a good pace throughout the shows and kept everyone on track and called them out nicely when their comments made no sense.
I believe the show will suffer.
I feel that Leo has become that which he fought and protested against.
I've found that Leo will take over every conversation, interrupting guests without apology and cutting off conversations to get HIS point across.
Tom, good luck in everything. You will find a better opportunity without a doubt now that you are free of Leo.
There is a viewer opinion poll on their site and when it asked what my least favorite part of the TNT show was, I wrote "that Sarah gets to phone it in but Tom can't"
I too have been listening and donating monthly for years. (donations ended yesterday)
Over time I've cut WAY back on my consumption of TWiT content for a lot of reasons.
TNT changed when they moved from the cottage then changed again when Tom went remote. I admit I liked it better when he was in-house but he's made it work. Sarah on the other hand is always in her dining room or traveling or stuck somewhere or late and that is apparently ok.
Mike as a News Director? Sounds good. Mike as an anchor? jury is out
I find him boring quite honestly.
Tom maintained a good pace throughout the shows and kept everyone on track and called them out nicely when their comments made no sense.
I believe the show will suffer.
I feel that Leo has become that which he fought and protested against.
I've found that Leo will take over every conversation, interrupting guests without apology and cutting off conversations to get HIS point across.
Tom, good luck in everything. You will find a better opportunity without a doubt now that you are free of Leo.
There is a viewer opinion poll on their site and when it asked what my least favorite part of the TNT show was, I wrote "that Sarah gets to phone it in but Tom can't"
In another way, too. Leo is pulling a Paul Allen... on himself!!
After watching the recent "Inside Twit" that someone linked to above, Leo says that he wants to change the whole network, jettisoning the focus from the "hobby" shows that got the network started, in favor of a news operation.
This is exactly what Paul Allen did to TechTv, and somehow Leo saw then that this was the wrong move, yet somehow now has forgotten.
People listen to/watch this stuff primarily for some sort of entertainment, probably most dependent on charismatic hosts and witty banter. Dry news and awkward host presence are a big snooze.
Leo, Tom, and to some extent Steve Gibson, Paul Thurrott, Jeff Jarvis, Andy Ihnatko, and Denise Howell have smooth and entertaining presence. Most of the others just sound like they are reading copy.
So, Tom's ability to come off smooth, combined with his rigor for preparation, are of more value than the raw informational content of the "news". We'll have to see how smooth this Mike guy comes off, and if he is able to "think on his feet", so to speak, while doing a broadcast.
But to see Leo pull a Paul Allen on himself, especially after having the experience of the actual Paul Allen pull one - it is just hard to watch. I suspect that this Lisa person has too much influence. Leo seems to be on tip-toes around her, another weird thing to see from Leo.
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Well said.
I don't want to start a Leo bashing thread or get off topic but you do know who she is to him right?
If not, try a google search on their names together.
I don't want to start a Leo bashing thread or get off topic but you do know who she is to him right?
If not, try a google search on their names together.
