TWIT: Does anyone care anymore?

How the mighty hath fallen...so to speak.

I don't watch TWIT much these days and when I do I'm frequently disappointed.  Which in itself is a surprise since I didn't think things could get any worse.  Looking at the holiday offerings this year for example was much like last year.  Just a bunch of "Best of's" which were compilations of anything but.  Where were the Holiday themed episodes?  The special round tables with the likes of John Hodgman and Jonanthan Coulton?  Where's the New Year's Special!

Oh yeah, Leo don't do that anymore...

Truth be told, the promise of the TWIT was always far more grand than the product delivered.  Big dreams, the resurgence of a 90's tech icon.  A network built on a small but vocal demographic of those for whom their mantra, their religion, their dearest wish was all things tech.

It wasn't a hard sell for devotees of the defunct TechTV ( formerly ZDTV) basic cable channel.  Leo Laporte was an affable "every-man" who just happened to have a silky smooth presentation and at least an idea of what he was talking about.  

You never saw him confuse a Hard Drive with a Video card.  He was someone you felt you could trust.  A family man, someone like you and me.  A trusted friend you drag along with you to CompUSA.

Yes, I'm dating myself but only in so much as the era where Laporte was relevant.


Now?

NotsoMuch...

A check of the current TWIT schedule reveals just how bad things really are.  Entire days of the calendar are blank with most having maybe 2 shows recording and of those only a few stalwart remnants of the near-glory of the network's past.

Nostalgia wasn't enough and even Laporte's attempt to rekindle the vibe of his TechTV days has fallen flat with the announced cancellation of "The New Screen Savers."  Gone as well are the Iyaz Akhtar created, Know How which in later years found itself increasingly squeezed to the margins and finally choked out of existence with the exit of replacement host Fr. Robert Ballacer.  

The good Father's charisma was the only thing keeping many shows afloat in the past few years as he played stand-in for Laporte and other popular (mostly departed) hosts.  His exit in June of 2018 might as well have been the death knell for the network with Laporte the only recognizable face left.  

Those that might have taken up the reigns and brought the network to the lofty heights envisioned by its founder like Sara Lane, Tom Merritt, Brian Brushwood and Shannon Morse now long since gone.  

Their content and audience driven programming replaced by bland, also-ran drivel only an advertiser could love.  

It's not unlike so many popular YouTube channels that now focus their content almost exclusively at the pleasure of their paid sponsorship.  Don't expect a sour word about a Geforce Card from a YouTuber with NVIDIA sponsorship for example. 

So it is with TWIT.  That which destroyed TECHTV has ultimately destroyed TWIT.  It is now an also-ran competing with YouTube channels produced in somebody's garage for the same advertiser dollars.  Laporte has admitted as much saying his reason for cancelling the New Screen Savers was he was trying to... 


"do a network television show on a podcaster’s budget."

And the now all too familiar excuse for any show's demise on TWIT....

“The New Screen Savers” just hasn’t developed a big enough audience to pay for itself.". (source)

Yes folks, that's an admission of what TWIT is today.  A lowly podcast channel with the overhead of a network broadcaster and every show under the gun to perform.  Or so we would be led to believe.

Yet by Laporte's own admission the network was pulling in 13 to 14 million a year (source) which far exceeds 99% of even the largest YouTube channel's revenue.  Apparently that's not enough as the studio moved to a smaller location in 2016 and has since axed or put on hiatus at least half a dozen shows.  

Still it seems there's never enough money for TWIT and every show has to carry it's own weight.  Yet inexplicably shows like Floss Weekly and Ham Nation continue unabated even though they cater to a subset of a niche at best.  

Meanwhile shows more in line with TWIT's general demographic like Coding 101, Know How, This Week In Law and Game On get the axe.

That pool of money is a lot more contentious than it used to be too.  In at least that much we can cut Laporte some slack for TWIT's failure.

TWIT is now competing for advertisers with those same YouTube channels (some led by former TWIT hosts) with far less lofty ideals but a far more consistent viewership. 

A quick peek at the ads you'll see on the average YouTube tech channel are also found on TWIT.  With most TWIT shows struggling to break into a 4 figure audience per episode no matter where you watch them (most are low 3 figure BTW) it's not TWIT dictating the terms anymore.  Advertisers can find far greener pastures elsewhere.

Let's also not forget that YouTube creators don't have the overhead of TWIT (maybe) and can survive on much thinner margins (definitely) while providing the same mediocre content. 

That said, none of the supposed financial strife at TWIT seems to have stopped Laporte and wife/[sic]CEO  from extravagances like month-long European vacations or purchases of luxury items like his Tesla Model X (source)

There was a time when Laporte chafed at the idea of TWIT as a podcast network.  Now, he clings to it for every bit of relevancy it can afford him.

And that aint much friends.

TWIT is now like a favorite TV series that over the years has replaced the entire cast and writing staff.  Nothing remains but the set pieces and it's just not enough.

TWIT isn't dead but it's been a slow roll down the slope to the graveyard and we're far closer than we've been before. 

TWIT: Why the Totaldrama's of the world ever existed...

It's fairly obvious at this point that TWIT has lost a lot of fan base.  With popular hosts exiting and shady personal dramas playing out in front of all those Canon G10's in the studio, it's been a wild 4 years.  The net result is a network short on talent and long on expenses.

Even Laporte's "The Tech Guy" radio show hasn't escaped the black cloud that hangs over the network.  Just in the past 6 months for example, the show has virtually disappeared from the Phoenix area. 

Dropped entirely from  station 1480 AM KPHX, the only area frequency the show is still heard is the relative backwater 1000 watt 1230AM KFYI.  A station better known for its "B-list" conservative talk-radio programming.  That may not seem like a big deal until you realize that the Phoenix market ranks 13 (of 272) in the most recent Nielsen Market rankings.

I've often said that perhaps the problem with TWIT is that we see too much of the sausage being made.  From poorly timed sexting messages exposing an illicit affair to the brutal dressing down of a fan favorite host, TWIT's transparency has had a large role in dismantling a facade that Laporte has spent a career nurturing.

Blame him, blame his so-called "CEO," blame whomever you want but the simple fact of the matter is that Laporte is blatantly fallible and unapologetically so.

So when the banner of wholesome, family friendly content is hoisted nobody is buying it anymore. 

Meaning TWIT's days are numbered.  Nobody likes to see the seedy underbelly of their heroes especially advertisers.

Which leads us to Totaldrama.org or more recently Totaldrama.eu...

It is (soon to be was) a site devoted exclusively to badgering the TWIT network and more specifically Laporte himself. 

Irreverent isn't an adequate enough adjective to describe the vitriol slung at TWIT by the site.  It chronicles every misstep, every crude remark and every gaff.

It fed a disgruntled fan base looking for an outlet but soon that outlet will be no more.  While entertaining, the site could never be accused of having much in the way of journalistic integrity.  Most recent posts were trending toward outright rants and insults based on little more than unsubstantiated personal opinion.

While it's true that controversy is far more popular than more thoughtful content on the web, it's not a sustainable business model.  Especially when the target of your attacks has a shrinking audience.

The failure of totaldrama.eu shouldn't be looked upon as a vindication of TWIT's current course, however.  TWIT's not gaining any fans and the shows continue to fall in the podcast rankings.  The simple truth is that it's far more likely that the failure of totaldrama.eu has far more to do with an apathy toward TWIT.

In short we just don't care anymore...

TWIT: Kicking puppies or The firing of OMGChad

I'll be honest here...

I really haven't been spending that much time with TWIT lately.  The house that Leo built continues what appears to be a slow slide into oblivion which isn't news.  That more and more people agree with that assessment isn't either.

It's not good to fixate on negative things for any length of time unless you're trying to learn to avoid them.  At this point the writing's on the wall for TWIT and fans and detractors alike are growing weary of the whitewash every time the network takes another misstep.  

It's like trying to find something positive to say about a train wreck by mentioning the scrap value of the mangled cars.

The latest round of "changes" as former bookkeeper now CEO Lisa Kentzell likes to call them is the...ummm....

Firing? removal? change in status?  Well, whatever they're calling it these days, "former" protege' Chad Johnson is no longer a full time employee.

Apparently Johnson, whose OMGCraft show had already left the network, has been removed from TWIT production duties on all TWIT shows including MacBreak Weekly and TWIT among others.

Which means he was fired...

In the October 29th "Inside TWIT" Laporte cited the need for a producer whose time isn't split between their own endeavours and those of TWIT's cash cow programming.  He followed up with expressions of affection for the newly unleashed Johnson not unlike those bestowed on Brian Brushwood and Justin Robert Young earlier this year.

Those "changes" became most evident, however, after Johnson had his own "Erik Lanigan-esque" moment (meaning he said he got fired but wouldn't elaborate.)  It came about during an impromptu call-in on longtime friend and mentor Brian Brushwood's "Night Attack" show during a discussion about his termination.

Much like the now "banished to the ether" NFSW 218 where Brushwood and Young praised TWIT for their help in nurturing the fledgling show,  Johnosn remained professional in his discussion of the events surrounding his dismissal and appreciative of Laporte's tutelege.  Hopefully we'll see that professional courtesy reciprocated instead of the Night of 1000 bans leveled at the former hosts of NSFW.

NOTE: Skip to 1:07:27 to hear from Johnson himself...

Johnson will continue as co-host with Dick DeBartolo on "The Giz Wiz" although that may have more to do with DeBartolo's pull than any act of magnanimity by Laporte. 

With the continuing drain of talent at TWIT, Laporte needs to retain the few popular hosts he has left.  With successful endeavors of thier own and fame earned long before TWIT even existed, DeBartolo and  others like Security Now's Steve Gibson have little need of the exposure TWIT affords them.

Meaning that after DeBartolo was effectively abandoned by Laporte to be replaced by Johnson it's likely he wouldn't tolerate another host change.  Of course it could also be that Laporte just didn't want to take back hosting duties on The Giz Wiz like he had to for Before you Buy when Morse left.

That or Laporte is just running out of hosts.

Speaking of Shannon Morse...

She's even closer to "out the door" now.   Her departure from co-hosting duties with Fr. Robert Balacer on Coding 101 was announced on the October 15th Inside TWIT page.

The change is reportedly the result of format changes to the show which for all intents and purposes is going to be less about learning to code (the show's premise BTW) and more like a "Triangulation" for coders.  (That's my phrase not TWIT's)

You have to wonder just how much more of this the ol' Padre is going to put up with...

Morse already had one foot out the door when she ceased producer duties at TWIT this year and now has been reduced to the cameo role of "reviewer" on TWIT's Before You Buy product review show.

One can only surmise that OMGChad's future at TWIT will follow a similar path as TWIT "contractors" tend to have short tenures.

The official explanation is below on the inside TWIT Oct 15th announcement page...

A big thank you to everyone for their support of Coding 101, because without our fans it would not exist. A show about programming has always been a part of our vision for TWiT, and starting this week we are making changes to the format of the show.

Instead of focusing on teaching code and jumping from one language to the next, we will be interviewing developers/programmers/coders and taking a deeper dive into their work. We plan to cover everything from coding to programming philosophy and plan to integrate more projects on the show.

With this shift in focus, Shannon Morse is leaving Coding 101, but she is not leaving our network. I am happy to announce that Shannon will be returning as a contributor to Before You Buy with weekly product reviews. While I know that Shannon is very busy with her work outside our network, we are looking forward to keeping her presence on TWiT.

Stay tuned as we continue to improve our existing shows and announce new ones!

And why not?  After all, we tuned into Coding 101 for the stimulating conversation right?  Yes, of course, Coding 101 will now be the Tavis Smiley of coding podcasts!

Ok, by now we know the "changes" that happen at TWIT these days are largely driven by Lisa Kentzell with Laporte blithely following her lead.  There's no doubt who's in charge of the network and the visiion is clearly not Laporte's regardless of his claims to the contrary.

Much like Brian Brushwwood on Night Attack 35, I'm having issues not mentioning what part of the anatomy I believe  Laporte's decisions are likely being made by.

All I can say at this point is that shafting Chad Johnson is like kicking puppies while drowning kittens.

TWIT: Why I bother

After I wrote my last article about TWIT's latest round of upheavals I found myself pondering why it was that I bothered to pay so much attention to a tiny podcast network.

Others have wondered as well...

Hell, I even wonder at times but I think I have an answer.  So let this article serve as my explanation to anyone that questions my motives. 

Some might call the articles I write about TWIT as nothing more than trolling hit pieces born from some beef I have with Leo Laporte.  

And you would be wrong...  

Trolls only seek to garner attention to themselves at the expense of their 

target.  I don't seek a target, I have a vested interest.  One that may surprise you.

You see, I want TWIT to succeed.

Unlike the Revision 3 and 5 by 5's of the world, TWIT is not just another podcast portal with prerecorded content waiting to be pulled off some virtual bookshelf.  It's a living, breathing entity 24/7 that allows its viewers free access to not only relevant content but a chance to peek behind the curtains of an emerging broadcast medium.

Which is something most podcast aggregators don't do.  There's no life to their offerings, just a jukebox carousel of pre-packaged content. 

TWIT was something different.  It's the lovechild of Leo Laporte and TechTV both of which I was an avid fan.  Yes there were reruns but there was also live programming and interactivity with the hosts not to mention the opportunity to see what magic the Wizard (Laporte) was crafting behind the scenes.

This was the prototype for what Internet broadcasting should be.  Viewer driven, dynamic, interactive and compelling. 

It was the kind of programming that you could leave on all day in the background if you wanted to.  No playlists, no stale overproduced content, no empty headed "spokesmodels" that wouldn't know the difference between a smart cache and a Smart car...

But beginning around the early part of 2012 just after the move to TWIT's new studio, the Brick House, things started to change.  There was an increasing emphasis on even long running shows to be profitable.  

While there's no denying that someone has to pay the bills the content began to suffer as ever more ads crept in and Laporte took a less central role.  With no heir apparent to TWIT, leadership flounders and content frequently takes a back seat to the "business" of TWIT.   All the time never realizing that the focus on ad revenue is killing the soul of the network.

So why do I care? 

Because an opportunity is slipping away due to greed, hubris and indifference.  It's not so much about Laporte, TWIT or even any of the shows so much as the impending failure of an experiment that should otherwise succeed.

TWIT is the prototype for online media in a way that CNET could only dream of being.  It's the only option poised to challenge traditional and new media outlets.  If it fails it's unlikely that we'll see it's kind again and frankly there's no good reason for it.  The network continues to shoot itself in the foot and become less relevant by the day as both talent and content migrate to greener pastures.  The only response, to continue the slow slide into oblivion with denial and delusion. 

TWIT is repeating the history of its ancestor in spite of claims to the contrary.  What began as the offspring of TechTV is dangerously close to meeting the fate of G4. 

I'd rather not write its epitaph.

That's why I care.

The Emperor has no clothes

It drives me nuts...

Even though I know it shouldn't...

I mean, really now, who cares about one little podcasting network anyway?  In the grand scheme of things such concerns are less than trivial if not inconsequential.  If a beloved icon of tech journalism like Leo Laporte chooses to delude himself while his Rome is burning what business is it of ours if he chooses to believe otherwise?

If TWIT vanished from the landscape of Internet content the number of people who actually cared would be lower than the percentage of LGBT's in the Tea Party.

...and the king of Tech punditry would do just fine thank you...

Still...

Over the past few months I've continued to witness a sea change at TWIT with the most obvious symptom an exodus of popular hosts and programming.  In their place bizarre additions like Marketing Mavericks, a show based on sucking up to the kind of people who dreamed up click-through ads and stadiums named after cell-phone companies.

And then there's the ads!  Oh those god awful ads!  Where do they find these products??

Of course, not everybody agrees with me...

"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it people like me!" Stuart Smiley

If you can sift through the barrage of delusional self-affirmation and staunch denial of anything contrarian that pervades today's TWIT, there are still gems to be found on the network. 

Shows like This Week in Law, This week in Enterprise Tech, Windows Weekly and the grand old man of the group This Week In Tech still shine.  Unfortunately, to find them you'll have to ignore the cognitive dissonance that promotes Tech News Today (TNT) as still being relevant or Floss Weekly and Ham Nation as being interesting.  Incidentally, after almost 6 months, TNT still consistently ranks far behind Tom Merritt's Daily Tech News show and has yet to break into the top 10 on most ranking authorities. 

With the often abrupt departures of popular talent like Tom Merritt, Brian Brushwood and even Iyaz Akhtar, the void that remains has been filled (with varying degrees of success) by hosts like:

Father Robert Ballecer,  the affable and upbeat "digital Jesuit" who is increasingly ever present and likely  heir to TWIT if not for his "other" job.  

Chad Johnson, OMGCHAD and newest Laporte protege' who is often called upon to beta test new programming like the short-lived This Week in YouTube and RedditUP (currently in beta.)

Sara Lane, a stalwart TWIT personality and second only to Laporte in the sheer volume of shows she hosts.  As one of the few remaining alumni from Laporte's TechTV days, Lane appears loyal to Laporte but one has to wonder if those convictions have been tested since the surprise departure of so many TWIT colleagues from the network.

And of course, Laporte himself who recently took back hosting duties of TWIT's tech review show Before You Buy after former host and producer Shannon Morse left TWIT's full time employ. 

Shannon Morse, the contractor, now only appears once a week on TWIT as co-host of Coding 101 with Fr. Robert Ballecer.

Morse, known most prominently from Darren Kitchen's Hak 5 was a recent addition to the network in the past year.  Her decision to trade a full time gig at TWIT to be a contract host for one show (while doing at least 2 others for Revision 3) can only be viewed as a foot out the door.

The only time a full time employee converts to a contractor these days is when somebody is on their way out and Laporte taking back hosting duties of Before You Buy underscores just how "out" Morse really is.

But let's be fair here.  While TWIT's apparent missteps are beginning to border on habitual, it's not entirely their fault.  Take a look at those same podcast rankings that are so damning to TNT and you'll find a saturated landscape.  Everybody and their brother seems to have a tech podcast.  Couple that with the fact that the novelty has worn off.  There's very little new information out there and "revolutionary" is just a marketing buzzword.  Technology isn't "magical" anymore and even your grandmother can use an IPad.   

Go ahead, check The Verge, TechCrunch or even TNT (if you can stay awake) and the content is without fail a daily march of ad nauseam reviews of yet another "revolutionary" smart device.  Lest we forget the constant security breaches of well known web properties and tech pundits desperately  inflating their copy by reviving long dead adjectives like, "plaudits."

Not very exciting...

Short term gain leading to long term consequences.

That TWIT advertising has increasingly strayed from a tech focus to products like razors, jewelry and snacks may be an indication that tech just isn't that sexy anymore.  Unfortunately, it also frequently results in content straying from technology to heated debates over single versus multi-blade razors.

Viewer's of TWIT could likely care less about razors, underwear and harvest rice sticks when they're watching Security Now or Windows Weekly.    At times even the hosts seem annoyed as they hawk often ridiculous and contextually irrelevant wares.  With an average of 2 to 4 live ad reads per TWIT show, anything that strays from the content runs the risk of losing an easily fickle audience.

Where TWIT may once have been a destination rivaling its progenitor, TechTV, in the past year it's become more akin to G4.  In case you don't get the analogy, G4 began as a cable channel focused on video games and gaming culture and ended with a schedule largely consisting of Cops reruns and infomercials.

TWIT's bizarre programming changes, a trend of topically irrelevant advertising and exodus of talent paint a dark picture of the network's future. 

It's high time ego and hubris take a back seat. 

Rome is burning and the Emperor has no clothes...

TWIT without NFSW, yet another sign?

I suppose this is going to become a series and I hate that, here's why...

There's already enough negativity in the world and I'm not happy to add to it but neither can I sit idly by while good intentions wend their way toward hell undocumented.

So I might as well keep tabs on the house that Leo built and see if forecasts of its eventual demise are the stuff of insight or foolishness. 

In the intervening weeks since the departure of Tom Merritt and the fallout that resulted, TWIT has continued a now familiar trend of upheaval. 

Mike Elgan continues as the host and driving force behind the revamped Tech News Today but absent is holdover from the Merritt era, Sarah Lane, as co-host.  She's now officially taken over full time duties 4 days a week for the new Tech News Tonight(TN2.)  It's entirely possible that Lane was paired with Elgan early on to ease the transition to his era of TNT but was never intended as a permanent association.  Of course that's just supposition.

Considering the suggestion of  tensions early on between the 2 hosts (see the earlier article) and this latest merry-go-round of hosting changes, it's not an unreasonable conclusion. 

 On the February 19th Inside TWIT recording (see below) it was announced that a search for a new co-host to join Elgan was underway.  There was no mention of any further participation of Lane in the morning TNT podcast.

The decision to change the news component of TWIT is still questionable borne out by the absence of TNT on any recent iTunes top 10 podcast list since the format change.  Tom Merritt's Daily Tech News Show (DTNS) by  comparison is consistently in the top 10.  The only TWIT podcasts still ranking in the top 10 on iTunes are hosted by Laporte including the long running This Week in Tech, MacBreak Weekly and Security Now programs.  That would suggest that personality is a more critical component of successful podcasting than pure content.

If that were the end of it there wouldn't be much need for another article but this week brought another not altogether unexpected but still surprising turn of events.

NSFW, TWIT's raucous, unbridled, freeform comedy program hosted by Brian Brushwood (ScamSchool) and Justin Robert Young (Night Attack) announced its farewell episode on TWIT this week.

In the February 18th episode, Hosts Brushwood and Young were emphatic in their praise to TWIT for nurturing NSFW for over 4 years.  Still their reason for leaving was stated as "Not wanting to hurt the network" due to content incompatible with an increasingly overheated "family friendly" and "CNN of Tech" focus. 

While Both Brushwood and Young's popularity have grown well beyond NSFW, the show still provides a hub for their related endeavors .   As such it will continue under a new moniker, "Night Attack" where unrestricted and uncensored content are expected to flow far more freely than would be possible under the TWIT umbrella.

 The new show will be financially supported on a subscription basis via Patreon which is a crowd sourced funding mechanism for the arts.  Both Brushwood and Merritt have found success with the service which currently supports Merritt's "Daily Tech News Show" not to mention the cord cutter show, "CordKillers"  which is a collaborative effort with Brushwood.  This will be the third show to leave the TWIT network only to be recreated independent of the TWIT influence.

Live streaming of "Night Attack" will be streamed via Diamondclub.tv as well as released in podcast form to other networks such as alphageekradio.com.

The issue nobody dares talk about, however, is that NSFW functioned as a kind of release valve for TWIT's otherwise straight-laced programming.  Whether you enjoyed the content or not the simple fact remains that many avid fans of other TWIT shows would frequently make their way to the #unfiltered section of the TWIT chatrooms when NSFW was recording.  Once there, fans could break free of the often draconian moderators in other TWIT chatrooms and uninhibitedly interact with the hosts.   A feature not enjoyed and frequently criticized for its absence on TWIT.

In the February 19th "Inside TWIT" Both Laporte and CEO Lisa Kentzell repeatedly reminded viewers that NSFW wasn't "cancelled" and left of their own volition echoing the sentiments of Young and Brushwood the night before.  That was followed by a discussion concerning the latest TWIT branded swag designs.   Increasingly it seems "Inside TWIT" is more concerned about marketing paraphernalia than the direction of the network.

This leads me to what I believe to be the ultimate endgame for the TWIT network.  That being to position it less as community driven resource and more as a "brand" to be traded on.  For many fans, that's a betrayal of what they believed to beTWIT's vision and the reason they supported it so fiercely while others failed.

However, once the brand surpasses the content, TWIT  and its increasingly "vanilla" programming will become little more than a commodity to be traded and ultimately sold to the highest bidder.  Much like ZDTV and TECHTV that followed it.

We seem to be moving that direction but only time will tell.  The popularity of former hosts has to be a bitter pill for Laporte as he grudgingly admits their post TWIT success.   An event that's been happening with such regularity that such announcements have become as routine as a form letter.  

There's no doubt that TWIT is an incubator for fledgling Internet stardom and there's no lack of examples that have benefitted from Laporte's tutelage.  Unfortunately, much like professional sports teams in Arizona, it seems that's all it will ever be as talent continues its exodus to greener pastures in the face of an uncertain future.

UPDATE:   I found a working video link to NFSW 218!  Check it out below!

NFSW show 218 ...

Baby, Bathwater and now the tub...TWIT changes continue

Watching today's TNT episode with new lead, Mike Elgan, at the helm it became obvious that changes at TWIT aren't quite done yet.

With Iyaz Akhtar's sudden departure for CNET last week, only Sarah Lane and Jason Howell of the Merritt era crew remain.

Leo Laporte attempted to soften the blow by heading up the New Years Eve episode of TNT alongside new TNT boss Mike Elgan.  Watching the episode one  thing became clear.  Where Tom Merritt was about collaboration,  Mike Elgan is all about a certain way of doing things...that being,.his way.

Politlely deflecting commentary to the contrary it was obvious that the edict has gone out.  My way or the highway will likely be the order of the day.

The strange thing was, that his delivery was about as interesting as a wet dish rag .  A more passive and submissive tone seems to surface around Laporte's bravado.  His stage presence lacked charisma and at times it seems he'd be more suited to stamping driver's licenses at a DMV window. In short a newsman but not an anchor.

What we do know is that Elgan is a willing tool of Laporte to push his grand plans of recreating TNT as the CNN of tech with a focus on "breaking news"   As such there wasn't anything new there.  It's a mantra that Laporte has droned so many times in the month since the announcement of Tom Merritt's departure.

With a playful yet overt dig at Sarah Lane for breaking into tears during Tom Merritt's last address to TNT fans yesterday (Dec. 30), it was obvious that Laporte was desperately trying to move away from the topic of Merritt's departure.

Soon after came Laporte and Elgan's gentle but obvious chorus of what they thought TNT wasn't doing well enough.

After which the first hints at tension began showing through the cracks when Lane rose to the defense of TNT's previous work.  After Elgan commented that he wanted TNT to be more "global" and didn't want to just be "reporting American tech news for Americans." Lane instantly responded with, " I don't think TNT was ever doing that!".  Elgan's response, "Right"

Apparently, award winning or not, TNT wasn't living up to Leo's expectations under Merritt's rule.
It's obvious that the remaining hosts (Sarah and Jason Howell) will not have as prominent a role as they did under Merritt and it's likely a reason Iyaz Akhtar chose to make such a curiously timed exit from the show.

It makes sense, TWIT has literally thrown the baby out with the bathwater and will have to move fast to fill the vacuum.  That means nothing of the Merritt era at TWIT can remain if they don't want to be constantly hampered by his ghost.  The painful part is to see the significant contributions of TNT crew past and present be devalued for the sake of a whim AKA: breaking tech news.

In the end don't be surprised to see Mike Elgan sitting with a completely different TNT cast by this time next year. Whether that's a good or bad thing is dependent on whether or not you can accept the changes Elgan brings to TNT.

I know what I think but make up your own mind.  The episode in question is provided below... Advance to 36:21 for Elgan's commmentary on the old TNT.