The Tech Guy
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| The Tech Guy | |
 The Tech Guy
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| Genre | Talk |
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| Running time | 2 hours (without commercials) |
| Country |  United States |
| Languages | English |
| Home station | KFI AM 640 |
| Syndicates | List of Affiliates |
| Hosts | Leo Laporte |
| Starring | Leo Laporte |
| Recording studio | Petaluma, California |
| Air dates | January 3, 2004 to Present |
| No. of episodes | 458 |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Website Audio Download Page Tech Guy Labs |
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 PodcastRSS Feed |
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The Tech Guy is a nationally syndicated radio show, hosted by Leo Laporte of TechTV and TWiT.tv fame. The show, which was first exclusively broadcast on KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles, California, was picked up for syndication by Premiere Radio Networks in January 2007. The show currently has over fifty terrestrial affiliates in cities including Los Angeles, California, San Francisco, California, Houston, Texas, and Washington, DC. The show also airs on America's Talk on XM Satellite Radio. Leo has recently began broadcasting in Live Video via Stickam and uStream at TWiT.tv Live, but eventually ceased streaming the show's caller audio at the request of his affiliates (though Leo's own responses are still audible). Leo still answers questions from chat room members between breaks, and also unmutes the audio to continue answering calls after the show has ended.
The show is a mixture of interviews and call-ins, as well as Leo's own thoughts and opinions on current events in technology. Leo likes to bring on guests such as Dick DeBartolo, Steve Gibson, Mike Lazazzera, Paul Thurrott, Ron Rosberg, and Merlin Mann for interview segments. These interviews are often pre-recorded to accommodate the guest's schedule. The guests connect to the show using Skype.
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[edit] History
Leo Laporte has been doing one version or another of his technology talk show since 1990, including a syndicated show originating from KGO. The current incarnation of the show began on KFI weekends in 2004, only months prior to the cancellation of Call for Help and The Screen Savers from the newly merged G4techTV in the United States. According to Leo, he had to find a way to keep talking about technology, and facetiously mentioned that if it wasn't for KFI green lighting the show, he would have ended up "having to talk to [his] wife about it."[1] The show ran weekends on KFI at 11 AM. Leo also appeared on Bill Handel's morning show on Fridays for The Laporte Report segment, and continues to do so. Leo also does a Laporte Report live segment for CFRB in Toronto, Ontario Saturday mornings.
In late 2006, Leo notified his audience on net@nite that his contract with KFI was going to expire soon, and it was hinted at that he would only continue with Clear Channel if The Tech Guy was syndicated. With the help of management at KFI, Premiere Radio Networks picked up the show for syndication, and it was announced on January 27, 2007 that it would roll out nationally [2]. On February 17, 2007, the newly syndicated Tech Guy radio show launched nationally on eleven radio stations, including KFI. The show, still young in syndication, is adding many affiliates, and has grown sharply from the original twelve to over thirty.
The post-syndication KFI feed of The Tech Guy is customized so that it does not lose its local Los Angeles feel. The presentation is similar to that of Handel on the Law and Mike McConnell. Dr. Dean Edell's show is also customized with KFI identification within the show, even though the show originates from KGO and is on tape delay.
[edit] Live chat
There is a public internet relay chat that takes place when the show airs live on the irc.dslextreme.com server in the #techguy and #townsquare rooms. Leo participates in the chat during commercial breaks, under the name "Leo," and often refers to the chat to give him additional information to some of the caller's questions. The channel is moderated to keep the chat clean and about the show being broadcast. The moderators of the chat are Dan, Dustin, Illuminati, Mick, Mike_B, Shooby and Sascha. Sascha is responsible for the show notes posted on Leo's site.
[edit] Podcast
Every show is available as a podcast on the TWiT network, distributed via RSS feed 
at twit.tv/TTG. Shows are posted one week after their airdate, which is done to keep the affiliates pleased. The show is also downloadable via 64 kbit/s MP3 file format, and can be streamed through the site's Flash player. The Tech Guy's bandwidth is provided by DSL Extreme, a sponsor of the show that also hosts the show's IRC chat room.
[edit] Tech Guy affiliates
Laporte's Tech Guy radio show is syndicated to several affiliates across America. The show originates from Petaluma, California near San Francisco, California, and while KGO is the San Francisco show affiliate, KFI in Los Angeles, California is considered the show's flagship. The show runs live weekends at 11 a.m. Pacific, 2 p.m. Eastern. Some affiliates opt to pick up both shows each weekend, while others only choose to run one day. Due to a request from his affiliates, Leo is only streaming video during the show's broadcast and does not stream the show's audio. Leo unmutes the stream during commercial breaks and still chats with the IRC chat room. A list of affiliates can be found on his web site showing all the stations as timely as possible.
[edit] External links
- Leo Laporte's official website
- Leo Laporte's blog
- Leo Laporte's The Tech Guy radio show notes site
- Leo Laporte's message boards
- This Week in Tech Netcast/Podcast Network official website
- Leo at Premiere Radio Networks
[edit] References
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