Can TWIT really become a news channel?

[G+_Adam Usher]

Honestly Apple covers their own events well enough that no one else is needed

[G+_Brandt Smith]

Is it ironic that Elgin, who has lived on the road for the last year or more was hired to be "in-house"? On Inside TWiT this week it sounded like Elgin wasn't going to stay in Petaluma for very long. Obviously, we are not privy to all of the plans, but right now my hopes are not very high.

[G+_Daimen Hutchison]

My guess is that the in studio part is more crucial during the transition over the next six months to a year. After that perhaps there is more scope within the role to travel. Particularly when you consider they are rotating the hosts for TN2T

[G+_Garage Geek Guy]

TWIT has always been willing to try new things, then have the wisdom to bail if the new thing didn't work out.

 

Agree with him or not, Mike Elgan quite often has a refreshingly different spin on news than all of the other sources out there.

 

Changes I would like to see for tech media in general - I am really tired of cell phone and tablet stories. That stuff bores me to tears.

[G+_Aldo Merino]

I don't find Mike's views "refreshingly different" at all. At best, they're pretty standard, at worst, they're Scoble-lite enthusiasm (e.g., wearables). That said, I have nothing against the guy and he's solid to listen to, which is a deceptively hard quality to have. His decision to live abroad was, on the other hand, refreshingly different;-)

 

And I'll take cell phone and tablet talk (which I find fascinating) any day of the week over the incessant Twitter chatter. So much talk over something so (IMO) inane.

[G+_Garage Geek Guy]

Aldo Merino Fair enough, we all have different preferences.

 

One area of tech that TWIT could stand to grow in is the Maker segment.  Bringing in some talent from the electronic hobbyists community for a show or two could be huge.  Dave Jones, Ben Heck, Jeri Ellsworth - someone of that caliber.  Watching Iyaz and Leo attempting to solder does not count.  :)

[G+_Dave Trautman]

Lonnie Honeycutt.

 

I don't think it makes good TV to watch anyone solder. Well, okay, maybe if it was Charlize Theron. _(Heavens I spelled her name wrong)_?

[G+_Danilo Dusoswa]

I really love the TWiT model and hope that they will be around for a long time. I do agree though that watching live is almost impossible due to work schedules, time zones and other commitments. I'm all about 'on demand', that's what I love about TWiT. I mainly consume TWiT in the car (audio only obviously) and only view it at the weekend because that's the only time that I have free to watch.

[G+_Dave Whitehead (lakeuk)]

Twit looks to have some interesting developments to evolve next year, the analogy Leo gives on going to the country as a major event (ie earthquake) is happen may risk reporting on speculation and hearsay, but I can see value in going a short time later (within months) to get stories that will provide insight into events and it's effect on technology.

 

It looks to be a similar concept to how BBC Click goes about developing stories, sending jobbing reporters out round the world to get insightful material that can be packaged into a 20min slot.

 

I'm not hung up on who running a show, anchor's like Leo, Sarah, Tom, Jason skill is to talk with authority but don't need to be an authority in what they're talking about, which comes from regulars/guests like you Mary J / Scott Wilkinson / Paul Thurott - this is all studio based, the next step it supplement with content from outside the studio.

 

Leo mentioned being more to a global audience, I agree, here in the UK their live content doesn't start till 6pm in the week, 7pm at weekends - during the day here they're broadcasting repeats but they don't have a schedule for viewers to know when a repeat is on, when I'm dipping in it's usually half way through a repeat.

[G+_Dave Trautman]

I hope everyone remembers TWiT wants an in house news director to run a news department. Tom Merritt is more than capable of running a news department and could have developed a particular style of reporting which would have been unique to TWiT. He was unable to relocate back to Petaluma. Most of us have never been in a news room to see what's going on behind the scenes.

 

The offer to Mike Elgan is probably in the same vein. To develop a working news department with a focus on tech stories and events. It may also be to gather and develop reporters and sources who can bring a specific style (or even irreverence) to TWiT's coverage. This is not something which can be done from a distance. A news director has to be right there to respond editorially and communicate quick decisions to their people as a coordinator of the effort. Otherwise chaos ensues.

 

Too many of the comments I am reading seem to want to suggest something nefarious was behind the decision, but for all practical purposes the change is simple. The challenge of leading a news department requires a set of skills and leadership ability which both these names have. But the harsh reality is that no one can do it over WiFi.

[G+_Mark Wonsil]

I wonder how much the collapse of All Things D earlier this year has created a perceived vacuum in the tech news space?

 

As for the CNN model, all cable news networks have lower viewership from last year (http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4346068/) since this isn't in a US presidential cycle. IMHO, these networks fabricate news through these shows where people talk over each other and the discussion is less about the news and more about drama and strategy. I'm personally tired of it.

 

I prefer the NPR model where they spend more time on a topic than all of the other news organizations combined.

 

I would welcome three shifts of news shows: a Pacific shift from Asia or Australia, a European shift, and a US shift. Let's face it, the tech world isn't just in the USA. Have a short tech news update at the BOTTOM of the hour (before you walk from your car into work) and have longer discussions with analysis in between which are then podcast later.

 

Will TWiT get away from weekly shows?