Apparently Mike Arrington (TechCrunch) was on the “B” list for review copies of the Palm Pre and decided to be huffy with Leo, who let him have it back. At some point people need to realize that Mike Arrington is indeed a douche. He once stiffed us at Cranky Geeks, never showed up and never apologized or even bothered to call. It was pretty amazing, unprofessional and inconsiderate. This BS about Leo slanting his opinion based on having a loaner is laughable.
What irks me most about this guy is his constant assertions that he gets never-ending death threats. Why? For what? I do not want to trivialize death threats as I have had them when writing Op-Eds for a daily newspaper and reporting on gun control and Middle East politics. I’ve never gotten any for writing about tech. And I didn’t hole up when I got them years ago for other commentary. So what is this all about Mike?
John –
I couldn’t agree with your sentiment more. That guy lacks journalistic integrity and really lost my respect long ago. I’m glad Leo let him have it even though he’s since apologized–I’m also glad that communication is still open (somewhat).
I hope Leo doesn’t beat himself up for losing it for a bit. Considering the number of hours a week you guys are on video or audio, I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more! It just goes to show the class and professionalism you exude. I love what you guys do and I respect you and Leo immensely. Keep up the great work!
Tony
P.S. I live in Western Washington and I love to hear about your Port Angeles experiences!
What kind of pos publicly stones someone for asking a question?
That Dvorak wuld now pile on top of this dung heap is anoter example of how tech journalism is bought and paid for, the brand is more important than the content, and it’s all about fanboy adulation and the googlerank.
Hold on to those readers/listeners/subscribers, boys. You got nuthin else.
For those saying it was an overreaction you have to consider that Leo has been putting up with this guy for years and he finally had enough. He blew up at this guy for all that he is, not just what he did on the show. I am now waiting for someone to blow up at Ryan Block. He seems pretty rude, arrogant and pretentious as well. Someday someone will have to get fed up with his constant interruptions and hubris.
Way to go Leo!!
I’ve heard you mention several times how much (of your own) money you spend on tech items that you review. You make a huge effort to remain unbiased.
I must admit it was kind of strange hearing you go after him. Let Mike do his show on his own network.
woah thats not the leo i know. its strange seeing him blow up like that.
Never heard of Mike Arrington before this show with Leo and don’t ever want to hear about Arrogant Mike again. Leo it the most unbiased Genuine Guy in Tech. Wish the Very Best to Leo! Been watching for years and will continue to do so!
I like Leo and dislike Mike, but Mike was in the right here. He asked Leo for disclosure – nothing more – I did not hear him “question” Leo’s integrity. He simply asked if Leo paid for the Pre or not. Is that so hard Leo??
Arrington has a lot of nerve, and apparently doesn’t know anything about Leo. I’ve watched and listened to Laporte for years, and as most everyone else knows, he actually goes out and BUYS much of this stuff himself! While I don’t always agree, I believe Leo give praise when he thinks it’s worthy, and can even be harsh when he thinks a product is weak. As for the rant, it’s proof that Leo’s a human.
Even a guy like Leo can only take so much BS.
Anyone who has watched Leo over the years knows Leo is not in the back pocket of any product manufacturer.
Holy crap, the fan boys really have their shorts in a knot over this one. Reminds me of a few years ago and all the 10-12 y/o ranting over Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper.
So somehow the question of Palm trying to influence the reviews about a new product shouldn’t be questioned. Right. Now that is good journalism. That a, or any, journalist, who might be swayed even somewhat by a “free” phone, is above reproach somehow makes me wonder just how intelligent the audience is.
Greg (#60)
After the show, after the drama, Leo did continue to review the unit taking questions from the chat room and FriendFeed. Not all was positive– 18 second lag time between launching an app and using it, lack of quality programs, a freeze up, the poor predictive typing. In the end he said it was better than most smart phones but not better than an iPhone.
Leo has always been a Palm fan, I seem to remember lots of Palm Pilot things on TechTV, but he took a balanced approach to the review when it finally happened.
Arrington has posted that Leo has apologized. I wonder if Leo REALLY wants to forgive Mike or just wants to move on?
http://bit.ly/dOz0Q
I wonder if this will come up on TWiT today? Nah.
Let’s pretend we don’t know who Leo and Mike are. As a viewer, I want to know if the reviewer got the device free or not. It was a legitimate question. I don’t think anyone questions Leo’s integrity, however, his response was the type you’d get from someone without any. Leo could have said “yes, it was free, but I’m going to be as honest as I can as usual”. Instead, he responded the way someone would with something to hide (not saying he did, but he did act that way), and reminded me of Bill O’Reilly when someone says something he disagrees with.
I figured it out. The entire exchange makes sense once you realize that Leo simply doesn’t like Mike. If anyone else had asked that question this wouldn’t have turned out the way it did.
I think that we should know if we got it for free, but he said he did. It was a review unit, not “Oh, you get a free Pre if you review this for us”. Standard fare.
I think we all trust Leo and to insinuate that he would discard his credibility in such a fashion deserves such a response.
Yesterday I totally took the day off and didn’t do anything productive so I watched Leo’s feed all day so I was “there” for the whole thing.
Some background: First, a couple comments indicate not everyone knows the whole story. This was during the Gillmor Gang. This is not Leo’s show. The Gillmor Gang is Steve Gillmor’s creation. Leo has recently been sort of producing it by using his equipment and network but Gillmor is still the host and the one who picks the guests.
Secondly, Arrington is Gillmor’s boss. So Gillmor isn’t going to do anything to piss off Arrington.
Third, Leo has called Arrington a troll several times recently. I think part of it is that Arrington has a habit of, as Dvorak mentioned, agreeing to appear on things and then just not showing up and not apologizing for it. It has happened to Leo on TWiT before and if I recall correctly, it happened once when Leo was at a conference that was supposed to have Leo, Arrington, and Om Malik on a panel. Malik was having medical issues so couldn’t be there. Arrington didn’t show up leaving Leo with the task of trying to entertain an auditorium full of people. Arrington later said it was because he never agreed to appear at the conference in the first place.
Forth, the Gillmor Gang is always about drama. The guests regularly get into arguments and personality conflicts. Calicanis threatened to settle an argument in a boxing match the last time I heard him on it. People — Arrington especially — regularly get pissed and leave.
OK, so about half an hour or so later, after the blow up and Leo pulled the plug, Arrington posted on techcrunch about the issue. http://techcrunch.com/2009/06/06/ouch/ he did it complete with the video. Why did he do that? Doesn’t Arrington have any place else to post his so-called apology? Why did he feel the need to post the video? Not to get hits on the website or anything I’m sure…
Then another hour or so later (I may have the timetable wrong since I didn’t see the live “show” just the replay) Leo returned to the studio and they aired a make-up session. The unofficial audio is here http://feeds2.feedburner.com/TheGillmorGangShow On the show Leo tries to explain that he thinks Arrington is a troll and says things to get reactions from people. Arrington never denies this. Then Leo tries to engage Gillmor in a discussion about why drama is such a part of the Gillmor Gang. Gillmor at one point says it is the chatroom’s fault (even though the drama was part of the show long before there was a chatroom) and basically ends up saying that he likes the drama and has issues with Leo becoming such a central part of the show since it is produced by Leo and airing on Leo’s network.
#30, there was also the time a few months ago when Leo thought he was muted, and he accidentally muttered a certain phone number to someone over Skype, or something like that, between shows. Some jerks kept reposting the phone number in the chat room, and lots of people started calling the number. Leo became upset and shut down the feed. (He might have been unable to continue anyway because of jerks repeatedly calling that phone number.)
#78 do you think that reviewers buy all their stuff to review? Car reviewers buy every car? OF COURSE they are getting the unit on a loan basis!! Are you 12?
People trying to defend Mike by saying that his line of questioning was valid because Palm is trying to manipulate the press are out of their mind. For one, isn’t that Palm’s job? Aren’t they supposed to lend out review units to the people the hope to get good reviews from? What company in their right mind would give a pre-release review unit out to someone who might come down negatively? They control the press (except the leaks) before the launch, that’s the power they hold as the manufacturer.
Point number 2: Leo didn’t get a pre-release unit – he got his Pre 24 hours before the release, and only because he couldn’t go out and stand in line like he usually does for these things. Leo even said that he didn’t feel comfortable asking Sprint for the 7 day review unit, but had to so he could review it for his radio show on the day of release.
Point number 3: The Gillmor Gang is not Leo’s show and he does not host it. Leo is a panelist and his network is the current distribution vehicle for the show. The confusion arises because Steve Gillmor does a sub-par job at hosting the show most of the time. The genesis and evolution of The Gillmor Gang over time has put the show through growing pains. Steve has not been transparent enough with the community in explaining what’s going on with regards to the changes that the show is going through. (The absence of podcasts/downloads of the shows since april and lack of explanation for those who don’t keep up with ever move Steve makes is one of these transparency issues.)
All that being said, as a TWiT and a fan of the Screensavers, I genuinely enjoy The Gillmor Gang even though it isn’t a ‘good match’ for the TWiT Network. It does have a tendency to devolve and become unbearable at times, but in the long run I think there’s enough value in the commentary and insights that the panelists offer to counter any low points.
scolfax, while I do agree that the question itself is relevant, Leo’s initial response actually was very reasonable. It started very matter-of-factly with “Yes, I got a one-week review unit”, followed by some talk about how it has not been possible for him to buy one yet. Not a single negative word about being asked that question or about Mike.
Mike, however obviously wasn’t satisfied with having settled whether Leo had paid for his unit or not, so it seems quite obvious that he wasn’t asking it for the benefit of the viewers.
Also, I think Mike truly showed that he was just trolling when he (successfully) ticked Leo off further with his “So, what are you gonna do about it?” comment. That’s just douchebaggery.
And, fwiw, I think that there is a significant difference between getting a free unit and getting a loaner for a week.
It was wild to Leo explode like that, but that douche bag deserved it. I mean who the fuck is he to call out Leo. What does he do that makes him the expert. Work for the technolgizer a company who get’s tons of free shit to review along with techchrunch who have so many adds its not hard to tell who pays the bills.
Leo relies on sponsors. Erratic behavior could cause some concern. He needs to kill the feeds before letting loose. Letting something like this loose on youtube could be bad for business.
Personal integrity and honesty are important(fortunately) to some journalists, both in action and reputation. Leo is in this category.
However, I can’t praise Leo’s on air language when he got upset. As a professional journalist, Leo’s language should have been better measured.
Enormous difference between a (1 week) loaner and a gift, and Arrington surely must realize this. To keep on about it is certainly trolling behavior, so Leo’s assertion regarding this was entirely correct.
My bias is in favor of Laporte, but I tried to see if Arrington has a legit beef or a point to make.
I doubt it, frankly… looks like he’s been shut out and is bitter. you can read more at my blog thing up there if you like.
fair play to leo
Leo is an Apple fanboi–therefore, Pre, Blackberry, Android etc. will never measure up to iPhone.
Mike’s full of shit, I highly doubt he’s getting any death threats on a “regular basis”. Just like his stories, actually – Full of shit.
I can’t wait to see a dance remix
wow. couldn’t believe he took it to that level. but i don’t blame him.
My Tender EARS!!! And listening to Leo I know how he skirts around certain wording, and to drop the bomb like this ? Yeah Leo dropped the bomb.
But I am siding on Leo’s side. It isn’t a free Palm, it’s a one week trial version which Leo has to send back to Palm. Last time I checked this isn’t some sort of new practice.