Tom Merritt Fired from TWiT

[saukriver]

Many Grandpas More Interesting Than Mike Elgan

That snap at Sarah Lane "You don't get to decide that. . . . We decide that," may be, as Leo often says, "just tip of the iceberg." Leo both strives to add women to his shows while at the same time then presenting seemingly uncomfortable sexual innuendo.

I did not see Sarah commenting about the set on-air during the TNZzzz podcast; it must have been after. But the set matches Elgan: dull and colorless.

Mike Elgan is absolutely painful to watch. His style is measured, low-energy. He seemed hesitant to call the weird Acer Android desktop for what it is and then practically almost defended Blackberry's contract last year with Alicia Keys. I don't agree with the "grandpa" comments about Mike Elgan; that demeans the elderly. I know grandpas who are more interesting than Mike Elgan.

Heck, JCDvorak is old, but he has a clear point-of-view and is rarely dull. As an example, Dvorak wasted no time in calling out Windows 8 as "schizoid." He was old, but he was also spot-on and early to say bluntly what others did eventually say.

Lane seems--ironically--to be much more engaged than she has been. Totally agree with the comment that she carried the TNZzzz show today (and yesterday). In the New Year's Eve show on Tuesday, in the last 3 minutes of the hour segment, Leo proposed that Sarah Lane make a "blood pact" to continue to do TWIT for the rest of his life, and she was surprised and gave a quizzical response on air.

My prediction is that the TNT audience will fade and the ad revenue will follow ebb soon thereafter. I also think Sarah Lane's energy underscores how dull and halting Elgan is. He seems very uncomfortable in the host role. Big "get" with Robert Scoble on Thursday kept things charged-up and worth watching and then no guest today.

But the TNZzz show maybe fun for another week to watch the Elgan-Lane tension between painfully boring and charged up. I don't watch for information anymore, but I want to see if/when Sarah Lane walks off the set. But--after another week of this--it is too painful to watch Mike Elgan on air, and I don't think Sarah Lane--if she sticks around--can give Elgan a personality transplant.

 

[Goozak]

Does anyone know what the conversation was that Leo refers to in the short video that he was unhappy with being aired?

I'm guessing it's this : http://www.justin.tv/twit/b/492274387 - Conversation about the background starts around 4:40.

Mike and Sarah both find it boring...

 

[saukriver]

Interesting Place to Work

If you are correct that the thing that set Leo off begins at 4:40 at http://www.justin.tv/twit/b/492274387 from 2 January, then this would boil down to

--Elgan asks Lane for her opinion re background of bookshelves with old computers
--Lane gives her view (old computers look "very specific" and gently suggest his idea of having newer computers "could seem "not established")
--Elgan expresses his view that not bad that it looks not established

--Separately, Leo later snaps at Sarah for giving her view (that Elgan had asked her for).​

That cannot possibly be what made him snap. It would be tantamount to an employer saying "We really want your views until we don't."

There must be something else.

 

[Goozak]

It is tantamount to an employer saying "We really want your views until we don't."

Well, I'm pretty sure Mike doesn't speak for Leo, so Leo didn't really ask Sarah for her opinion. I'm also guessing that Leo may think Sarah "should've known better" about discussing backgrounds on air since she's been at TWit for a couple of years while Mike is new. I don't really see why he should get upset about that, but that's Leo, I guess...

 

[saukriver]

Well, I'm pretty sure Mike doesn't speak for Leo, so Leo didn't really ask Sarah for her opinion

Your right that Elgan does not speak for Leo, but no one suggested Mike spoke for Leo. Leo is an individual. But TWIT is the company he runs.

Mike was hired as the News Director for TWIT . He works for TWIT. His request was in the scope of his job (not outside his job), in the TWIT studio, after a Thursday show on TWIT. Mike's question to Sarah was clearly speaking for TWIT. And her answer was part of her role for TWIT.

Leo's comments snapping at Sarah Lane was as chief exec of TWIT in the TWIT studio commenting on--perhaps--what she had said after a TWIT show about the background of a TWIT show.

I still cannot believe he would made such comments simply because she answered a question put to her by the News Director for TWIT. Even if Leo disagreed with her, I cannot believe he would get his dander up over those comments after the Thursday show. There must be something else going on that we did not see. You can't just jump down someone throat for offering a view about a show she is on when asked by the guy you hired to run the show for your company. There must be something else going on.

 

[xube]

Well, I'm pretty sure Mike doesn't speak for Leo, so Leo didn't really ask Sarah for her opinion. I'm also guessing that Leo may think Sarah "should've known better" about discussing backgrounds on air since she's been at TWit for a couple of years while Mike is new. I don't really see why he should get upset about that, but that's Leo, I guess...

1. Wouldn't iYaz and Sarah have been up for consideration to replace Tom once he was out? I was thinking that perhaps iYaz left after it became apparent to him that Leo was going with an outsider as the new host over him (or even Sarah).

2. Related to above, because Elgin is the new lead on the show in the interchange in the video link they were asking him for various opinions on what the set should look like. Perhaps Leo did not have a problem with Mike giving an opinion on this because he wants him to "take charge" of the look, feel and content of that show now. His barked response to Sarah was very specific "No! It's Not for you to choose!" Perhaps when watching the feed Leo thought Sarah was trying to have input where he did not want her to? It could either be that or the over reaction might simply be because Leo just watched the first episode of the show and maybe Mike's performance may have left him with a sinking feeling that he may have made a big mistake in choosing him. Someone is much more likely to be grouchy and snappish over minor things when their day is not going well or they are upset over other things.



video
Leo walks onto the set....
"Don't start messing with that yet, I LIKED IT" (regarding the set background)

and when Sarah starts to chime in Leo quickly barks...
"No! It's not for you to choose!"

The set design chatter may not be why he is actually so upset on this day, but he is definitely yelling at her about her input into the set background in this video segment.

 

[Gazmac2010]

Yesterday Leo said during his Tech Guy radio show that he had apologised to Sarah and that she was fine with it. Time will tell.

He also said that he's been receiving lots of mail but said "It's the price you pay for being a jerk."

Lets see what things are like on iPad Today on Monday.

 

[Mr. Gates]

So this happened today.
YouTube: video

She's so annoying I would probably be doing that to her all day.

I can't stand her voice.

It would just be "Shut your mouth Sarah" ...all day long

 

[saukriver]

On This Week in Tech, Leo just asked to run Mike Elgan's recording of "The Week Ahead". Evidently, Elgan had recorded, but maybe it was just too boring to run as it would cast a downer on TWIT.

 

[saukriver]

Yesterday Leo said during his Tech Guy radio show that he had apologised to Sarah and that she was fine with it. Time will tell.

He also said that he's been receiving lots of mail but said "It's the price you pay for being a jerk."

Lets see what things are like on iPad Today on Monday

There may be a much, much higher price than email condemnation to pay for being a jerk. It is really up to Sarah Lane whether she feels she has been harmed by how she has been publicly humiliated and, if so, whether TWIT/Leo can compensate her sufficiently for enduring such treatment. Some people would not be bothered by such treatment. But, heck he knew she broke down crying on the TNT show last Monday so Leo was on notice that he should not be crapping on her. when she was trying to do her job.

 

[ouimetnick]

I miss the old days of CNET. I don't really watch them anymore. I miss Tom Merritt's CNET Top 5, CNET Live, Insider Secrets, and all the other shows that Tom was part of. Molly Wood no longer does the Buzz Report, and Brain Cooley seems to focused on cars. The only good people left are Donald Bell, Brian Cooley, and Brian Tong. The rest are gone.

 

[S.B.G]

I miss the old days of CNET. I don't really watch them anymore. I miss Tom Merritt's CNET Top 5, CNET Live, Insider Secrets, and all the other shows that Tom was part of. Molly Wood no longer does the Buzz Report, and Brain Cooley seems to focused on cars. The only good people left are Donald Bell, Brian Cooley, and Brian Tong. The rest are gone.

I have to agree with you on every point there. I miss those older days of c|net too.

 

[0xd020]

After feeling a bit sad after reading all this TWiT bashing(basically), I have to say that listening to the latest TWiT show really made me optimistic about the TWiT Network again. Good discussion, good topics, and Brian Brushwood was doing a very good job.

TWiT will do just fine without Tom, although I will miss him too.

 

[elee]

I watched TNT without Merritt for the first time and couldn't help being disappointed. I think it's a huge loss for TWIT. Elgan may know what he's talking about but he doesn't seem like a news show host type with such mono tone voice. Certainly not the one to replace Tom.

Perhaps TWIT as company is getting just older, sooner than I expected.

 

[Hurmoth]

I watched TNT without Merritt for the first time and couldn't help being disappointed. I think it's a huge loss for TWIT. Elgan may know what he's talking about but he doesn't seem like a news show host type with such mono tone voice. Certainly not the one to replace Tom.

Perhaps TWIT as company is getting just older, sooner than I expected.

If you really like Tom's style, he's doing his own thing at http://www.dailytechnewsshow.com/, http://www.cordkillers.com/, and he and Scott Johnson have resurrected Current Geek: http://frogpants.com/currentgeek/

Plenty of Tom to go around

 

[elee]

If you really like Tom's style, he's doing his own thing at http://www.dailytechnewsshow.com/, http://www.cordkillers.com/, and he and Scott Johnson have resurrected Current Geek: http://frogpants.com/currentgeek/

Plenty of Tom to go around

Wow thanks. Should've looked into that instead of lamenting
Hope he comes up with better name than 'dailytechnewsshow.com' though. Too generic and long. Perhaps he needs a good producer. But all the best wishes to him.

 

[Hurmoth]

Wow thanks. Should've looked into that instead of lamenting
Hope he comes up with better name than 'dailytechnewsshow.com' though. Too generic and long. Perhaps he needs a good producer. But all the best wishes to him.

Actually, he mentioned in a Q&A yesterday that the name isn't set in stone right now; it was quick and available so that's what he went for during this trial run on his own. If you want to watch him live, he does Google+ Hangouts daily at 4:30pm ET/1:30 PT.

 

[stillerfan72]

I'm a fan of TNT since day one and before that when Tom was on CNET. I find the show completely boring now, all because of Mike Elgan who is a horrible choice for a host. Tom's new podcast will improve if he gets a permanent partner (Molly Wood or Veronica Belmont please) but even now it is much better than the new TNT because Tom has a pleasant personality and is good at his job. I'll still listen to TWIT out of habit, but TNT is getting unsubscribed until Elgan is gone

 

[nhw]

i jst have to add.. mike elgan is very very boring..... i did feel that tnt was really scripted before. where they throw questions at each other. however mike is really dull. it really makes me miss the old tnt

couldnt they hire veronica belmont to host tnt?

 

[pbowler88]

I've been a fan of TWiT for several years now, and I will continue to watch. I do agree with several of the comments here that some of the spark is gone. I'm not a troll. I'm just a fan who is disappointed with the quality of some of the shows.

Leo is very talented and compelling to watch, but I agree that the network is losing its edge. Security Now is really the only show that has depth anymore. Mac Break Weekly is good at times because of Rene Richie and Alex Lindsay, but Apple doesn't changes products that often so many weeks the show is boring. Windows Weekly is pretty good, but I'm no longer a Windows person so...

Some of the other shows just have mediocre hosts. I mean, could Father Robert really be on any other network? The reason Leo is successful is because he's a pro. He has a knack for explaining the simplest tech issues to a lay person, yet at the same keep the techie's attention without boring them. Most of the other hosts are not media pros, and it's obvious. They get boring really quickly even if they have decent knowledge of tech.

I do think the problems started with Leo and Lisa's relationship. The ramifications are obvious.

I don't think Leo is a bad guy for letting Tom go. Tom should have stayed in studio. If his wife moved then he had to expect this possibility was there. I hope Leo will bring him back at some point because he really is good. Leo did say that LA wasn't the problem so maybe advertisers weren't lining up for Tom's shows. I don't know. Leo also said he wasn't in a position to do what Tom wanted, so maybe Tom had a request that couldn't be fulfilled. Either way, I doubt Leo just fired him for no reason.

I will continue to follow Tom's new shows and I wish him well!

Mike Elgan is very knowledgeable, but he's just not a good host. Make someone else the main host and have Mike sit in as the pundit. That's my take.

 

[Twangmeister]

TNT has totally lost it's appeal for me. I've listened to the first week. I don't feel I need to continue listening. Mike might be great as an expert guest on various TWiT shows, but as a host he is totally out of his depth. He has none of the charisma and wit that Tom has. In fact Leo and Tom are the only guys who can anchor shows well on TWiT. If anything happened to Leo now I think the network would be in trouble.

Yes, there are other great talent on the network. I love Andy Inahtko on MacBreak. He has great humour and insight, but on the times he has had to anchor the show when Leo was away, the show suffered greatly. I could say this about several other presenters. It's a rare gift to be able to do what Leo does, and do it really well. Tom was the only other who had that gift.

I understand the geography situation and I suppose there's nothing to be done about that, but the network has lost out here big time. I am afraid I have gone to my Downcast app and unsubscribed TNT. There's no point my iPod filling up with stuff that I won't listen to because it bores me. You may say "well hang on here, surely it's the news that matters". Well no. Unfortunately personality counts for a lot, and TNT has lost it's personality.

 

[digitaldean]

I've listened to the MBW and TWIT podcasts and watched thru my Roku.

Even started watching Know How and iPad Today. Know How was fine, but iPad Today is unwatchable. Thoroughly can't stand watching Sarah Lane. Sad to see Iyaz leaving, I liked his work.

Didn't catch a lot of Tom Merritt's work on TWiT. Only saw TNT once and it was fine.

Have always enjoyed Leo's TWiT, MBW and The Tech Guy program. I have turned off several TWiT shows when they had on someone from the Obama Administration and it went off the rails real quick with political commentary (despite Leo's best efforts). Even the most recent TWiT that talked about CES had it's moments when Natalie Morris and Dvorak were going back & forth on Joe Biden.

If I want to watch/listen to political discussion I will go to the appropriate podcast. But if I want to watch stuff re: tech, I want JUST tech talk, period. If it persists, I'll stop watching/listening.

Mike Elgan, from the times I've watched TWiT, does know his stuff, just not incredibly dynamic.

TWiT and Revision3 seems to be changing. Tekzilla going down to 1 show per week sucks. The Tekzilla Bites shows are OK, but not that great. Assuming it's a cost-cutting issue since Rev3 was bought out by Discovery.

 

[LuxoDave]

TWiT and Revision3 seems to be changing. Tekzilla going down to 1 show per week sucks. The Tekzilla Bites shows are OK, but not that great. Assuming it's a cost-cutting issue since Rev3 was bought out by Discovery.

Yeah, only one Tekzilla a week sux. I try to watch HD Nation, but often times it does not interest me. DIY Trying may be promising.

I will still listen to the TWiT podcasts, but I agree the Elgin for Merrit trade is a bad move.

 

[oreotookie]

I'm guessing it's this : http://www.justin.tv/twit/b/492274387 - Conversation about the background starts around 4:40.

Mike and Sarah both find it boring...

Looks like they edited out the part where Leo snapped at her. You can find it here:

 

[InsideTJ]

I was listening to the TWIT rerun this afternoon. Leo mentioned Iyaz and Tom being on some other show, and he made the comment that he expected to see Sarah on there. I'm sure i butchered this quote. But I heard it twice and it struck me as an odd thing to say.