Leo Laporte…theeeeeee Guy
June 9th, 2009 by David Bradley >> 13 Comments
There is journalism and there is public relations (PR). They’re chalk and cheese and ne’er the twain shall meet, right?
Well, no, not really. Journalism ethics courses lay down the rules on how the two are intended to interact. So, for example, a tech company hoping to get maximum publicity for its latest gadget, will send out a press release, often under embargo, in advance of the launch.
They’ll also send out the gadget itself to certain select and prominent journalists, in the hope that they’ll get favorable reviews in their prominent and select publications. The understanding, usually explicitly stated in the accompanying paperwork when a gadget arrives, is that it should be sent back to the company once the review is complete. Journalistic ethics dictate that the journalist in reviewing the gadget should not be influenced by the PR machine in coming to an objective conclusion about its worth.
Given all this, there are blurred lines. While the PR company may insist on the return of its gadget, I suspect that happens only once in a while for inexpensive portable devices, although it’s probably more common that desktop machines, spectrometers, and cars get returned to the company.
Recently, the issue of blurred lines flared up on the Gillmor Gang show, hosted by “Tech Guy” Leo Laporte. Everyone who uses, or tries to use, tech in the US has heard of Laporte. He is a veteran broadcaster, podcaster, vidcaster, and journalist and has been around for even longer than me. I’d have to say I think he’s got a squeaky clean image. I very much doubt he has ever pandered to the charms of a PR professional and his reviews are, as far as I can tell, scrupulously genuine. People trust him. Then this happened…
Laporte revealed to TechCrunch’s Mike Arrington that he had received a Palm Pre in advance of the launch. Arrington was somewhat taken aback and asked Laporte how come he had got this freebie. Laporte apparently took offense at the implication that his review of the gadget might be tainted by the fact that he has supposedly received it for free (although officially it was probably on loan).
He responded by referring to Arrington as a “troll”, an “*sshole” and a few more choice phrases, ending with the F stop. Seemingly, he cut the show short and allegedly steamed off into the ether.
Of course, the fallout is ongoing, Arrington responded with a post entitled “Ouch”. John C Dvorak who also regularly features on Laporte’s shows, called Arrington a douche, and countless blogs and sites are now showing the video and throwing up endless commentary for and against the various parties involved. It’s all good publicity.
On one of Laporte’s other broadcasts, he repeatedly used the phrase “screw you” in an ironic, affected manner to various guests, seemingly to make light of the blow-up. Guests giggled. Arrington and Laporte have apparently kissed and made up (mp3 kiss and tell).
It was tech pundit Wayne Smallman who first alerted me to this little debacle and it got me thinking while we chatted on Skype about these guys. They set themselves up as the technological gurus of the age. Are they really gurus or do they just have access to embargoed news stories and friendly PR officers to hand? I don’t know, they do seem insightful on occasion, on other occasions they simply echo the same information as many other sites.
(In the mp3 followup file just posted, Laporte actually says that he’s not a good enough actor to stage a stunt like this.)
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Leave a comment ↓
Rudy // Jun 9, 2009 at 5:19 pm
If Laporte faked it, he did a good job making this yet another viral video.
If Laporte was genuine, then he got some pented-up anger against Arrington. It’s a well placed anger, but timing seemed odd. Mike is a troll so it shouldn’t bother Leo. I think it’s just something Laporte wanted to say for a long time.
I think it’s staged.
David Bradley // Jun 9, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Did you listen to the follow-up mp3, audio from the show they attempted. It ended up with Laporte and Arrington finding peace, but looks like there are real issues for Steve Gillmor who hosts the show. He was on the verge of walking out apparently because of all the vitriol he’s received (via forums etc) following the incident. To be honest, if that show disappeared something else would fill the niche and listeners wouldn’t even miss the original.
Rudy // Jun 9, 2009 at 7:39 pm
No, I have not heard it. I’m not planning to. Honestly, I don’t know what the big deal is – nor why I’m even talking about it.
But you’re right, if those guys disappear, another will fill in the gap. Maybe do a better job too.
David Bradley // Jun 9, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Heheheh, to be honest, me neither…it’s quite amusing to hear these old farts arguing among themselves though.
David Bradley // Jun 10, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Perhaps another couple of interesting points is that the Gillmore Gang is no the network, but isn’t one of Laporte’s “personal” shows.
Secondly, on the latest Tech Guy podcast he mentions the Pre many, many times and at one point makes reference to the fact that he’ll have to send his back at the end of the week…
Lorenz Gude // Jun 11, 2009 at 4:23 pm
The way Leo gets angry is probably not how an actor would do it – it is mostly happening inside. I think he actually gets angrier the more he thinks about it. I strikes me that it is because of the double insult in the way Arrington interrupts him about the disclosure and then before he can fully responds accuses him of getting a free Pre. I know when someone throws in a really outrageous accusation before I fully digest the first one it can really trigger me. I think that is what I see going on here. The first question is legit but rudely delivered. The second – well them’s fightin’ words. Explicitly, it implies he has taken a bribe., but I think it is because the insults are coming in faster than he can parry him that he actually blows.
David Bradley // Jun 11, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Have a listen to the follow-up mp3 I linked in the post. It goes on a bit but ends up with the two of them kissing and making up but Steve G seems less than happy with how things pan out…I suspect this would never have happened on TWiT.
Lorenz Gude // Jun 11, 2009 at 7:40 pm
I have listened to the MP3 now and there really was a misunderstanding I think, but I’ll stick with my impression that Leo’s adrenaline dumped along the lines of my original comment. I haven’t listened to enough Gilmor Gang to sure of the particular tone of that show. I think perhaps MacBreak has the opposite ethos – fluidly witty without falling into conflict. Perhaps this is just a function of the underlying personalities. I can see why maybe Leo is right that Mike is more confrontational than he realizes, and Mike admits that his view of human nature has become darker with experience as a journalist. And yes, Gilmor sounded ready to blow too and rather transparently reacting to the abuse he was getting from the audience. I heard about the incident on net@night and by then Leo was expressing that he was abashed at the mob mentality of the audience coming down on Mike. It reminds me of being in school how we hollered ‘fight, fight,fight’ when one broke out and rushed toward it before the teachers could get there and break it up. I guess it is fair to say that the interactive nature of the Net can create flash mobs.
David Bradley // Jun 11, 2009 at 8:02 pm
It’s an interesting incident…it gave me an excuse to unsubscribe from Laporte’s various podcasts though and am now enjoying some from CNet, some guys called TitT and a few other UK tech talk shows.
Lorenz Gude // Jun 12, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I enjoy Leo’s easy listening style and have no desire for confrontation beyond the kind Dvorak dishes out – I’ve read him since DOS days. I’ll have a look at the CNET and the UK Podcasts you mention. My playlist is a little Leo heavy I have to admit. Thanks for the chat – It has been an interesting interchange.
David Bradley // Jun 12, 2009 at 1:53 pm
When I do listen to Laporte’s output I seem to spend most of my time scrolling through segments of music and ads for GoToMyPC etc at least with Guardian Tech Weekly and others there’s an ad at the beginning but rarely anything in the middle. I realise his stuff is syndicated radio shows turned podcasts and they have to pay their way, I’ve just grown tired of that easy listening style and want something with a bit more spunk.
Wayne Smallman // Jun 16, 2009 at 10:19 am
I don’t know much about Laporte, but I do know that Arrington makes himself an easy target, what with his endless the-big-I-am attitude he carries around with him.
That said, I don’t see his ego letting him fall into some PR stunt. And what’s in it for Laporte? Other than a cosmetic image make-over, he’s been around long enough and it’s not like he needs any more publicity.
But then again, this is all like a soap opera these days, so who the hell knows what’s going on!
David Bradley // Jun 16, 2009 at 10:28 am
Laporte hasn’t stopped using the phrase “screw you” in his shows, supposedly in an ironic sense. Maybe it wasn’t a publicity stunt, maybe it was a planned outburst that went wrong but either meant to give Laporte some street cred or to give them an excuse to drop out of the Gillmor Gang. He’s also not stopped chuntering on about the bloody Pre either, he should have sent his “review copy” back by now, I wonder if he has…
I’m giving up listening to these shows, there not great anyway and this kind of episode leaves a bad taste in the mouth regardless of whether it was genuine or not. I’ve quite taken to CNet Buzz Out Loud, which I wish I’d discovered sooner, it’s much more entertaining and vibrant than the TW*T output…