Mike Arrington told-off on air

Lincoln Russell 6 Jun, 2009 at 11:56pm ET Article published in Tech

Leo Laporte calls Mike Arrington an asshole on the air. [via]

Comments

7 Jun 2009 ~ 2:30am Thrax That's because Mike Arrington <i>is</i> an asshole.
7 Jun 2009 ~ 2:10pm UPSLynx ^^

I heard about this on twitter from quite a few people, seeing the video put a smile on my face.
7 Jun 2009 ~ 10:42pm Cliff_Forster So what if Leo gets a review sample from Palm? He is one of the most visible tech journalists, of course Palm wants him to test it out.

Bottom line is this, if Leo gives the Palm a bunk review, Consumers are going to call him out on it. He stands to loose credibility then, and only then. Let him receive his sample, free or not. Let him make his comments, and if consumers that buy the product see any BS in his statements, consumers that feel misled will call him on it then and only then.

I don't blame Leo, let him have it.
8 Jun 2009 ~ 12:38pm DrLiam I haven't seen any of the other reviews done by this Leo or Mike but from what I have seen here, Mike is a real dick and Leo was having a bad day. I don't see why he did not just disconnect this Mike character and continue with the 3 or so other people in the chat room.

Anyhow, interesting watch and nice crash course on some top tech journalists.
8 Jun 2009 ~ 1:52pm Cliff_Forster

DrLiam wrote:

I haven't seen any of the other reviews done by this Leo or Mike but from what I have seen here, Mike is a real dick and Leo was having a bad day. I don't see why he did not just disconnect this Mike character and continue with the 3 or so other people in the chat room.

Anyhow, interesting watch and nice crash course on some top tech journalists.

Leo may have gone overboard, but if your him, and your ethics are called into question on the very show that you made a possibility so guys like Mike Arrington can come on and expand their brand, what would you do?

I generally try not to curse on message boards or twitter, so I won't repeat, but I think Leo had it about right. Like him or not, he practically invented the tech podcast, his is popular, and its a privilege to be invited to be on twit to expose yourself and your brand. The very idea that someone would take that and twist it into an opportunity to insult the very person that invited you is just insane to me.

If you have an issue with how he conducts his product endorsements and reviews, take it somewhere else, don't drop a bomb on him in the middle of his show. And I don't even care if he was joking, you don't joke about someone's professional reputation, especially someone who is helping you to forward your own agenda.

That being said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a tech reviewer getting a sample unit, to return after a trial or otherwise. The proof is always going to be in the consumer pudding. If you don't substantiate your facts, people will know, especially tech consumers, we are a smart bunch. If Leo were to endorse a junk product, then he would loose credibility with us, and with it at some point the privilege to review product because his opinion will not be valued.

I honestly don't think Leo Laporte is going to compromise his journalistic integrity over a phone that costs a few hundred bucks? His brand is worth far, far more than that.

Let consumers police the reviewers. Mike Arrington would be best served to shut his trap.
8 Jun 2009 ~ 1:54pm Thrax ^ Agreed 100%. Cliff, let's wrtie an article.
8 Jun 2009 ~ 2:24pm Cliff_Forster

Thrax wrote:

^ Agreed 100%. Cliff, let's wrtie an article.

Its a perfect opportunity for me, I am on that.