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Inside TechTV/G4

Posted by michael on from the rolls-downhill dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Former G4TechTV employee, Dan Huard, blows the whistle on G4. In the last half of his article, he states that TSS manufactured questions and used 'ringers' to ask their questions on the show."

5 of 404 comments (clear)

  1. TechTV was once a very good TV station, but... by ChairmanMeow · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I haven't watched TechTV since it was bought out by G4, and, to be honest, I don't intend to start. It was excellent before the takeover, but afterwards, the focus changed, and it became clear that the new management didn't want the "geeks" that watched TechTV. So be it. But don't expect me to watch G4/TechTV anymore.

    --
  2. For what it's worth... by Create+an+Account · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't think people are shocked that it happened, but I do think it's good to get the straight scoop about how the situation evolved.

    As a moderately geeky business major, I see this as a management failure, so having this story helps me understand how not to screw up something good. If some geeky broadcast majors read this article, maybe they can help prevent some other geeky goodness from failing later.

    Just my two cents worth.

    1. Re:For what it's worth... by Create+an+Account · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't want to start an argument here, so please forgive me for seeming pedantic.

      I would respectfully suggest that if your performance indicators and performance bonuses are encouraging behaviors that result in your show going off the air, or losing your core audience without creating a similarly robust replacement, then you are using the wrong indicators. So, maybe the management failure is not in the control booth. Maybe it's in the front office, or in the corporate headquarters.

      If the financial requirements cause you to degrade the quality of your product, then either your product is not ready for the market (or vice versa) or you have not been sufficiently creative in your market planning. Bringing the business side and the 'entertainment' side together is the job of management.

      At least, that's the way the schools I attend teach it. Anyway, thanks for listening.

  3. Re:Is that really of significance? by steeleye_brad · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Bingo. It seems very few people acknowledge this. Leo was one of the few people on TechTV who appeared to actually have some training and experience in live television. Jittery nerds do not make good TV...case in point is Chris Pirillo. I don't why people thought he was good, that man just wasn't made for live TV.

    I haven't watched TechTV since it became G4TechTV (god damn what a terrible name). It is a shame Comcast has essentially dissolved TechTV, the end result of this merger was G4 getting a few new people and some new shows (many of which are now gone!).

  4. Re:G4, the MTV of tech by sixy · · Score: 5, Insightful
    To the geeks here I say, "Boycott G4 and their sponsers. Write letters to the sponsers. Boycott their lame message boards. Spread the word far and wide."
    I'd actually have to watch the shows to know who the sponsors were.