Buzz Out Loud

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The BOL Logo From a T-Shirt

Buzz Out Loud is a daily podcast about tech related subjects, produced by CNET. Affectionately abbreviated "BOL" by fans, and known by their tagline as "CNET's podcast of indeterminate length" (or "CNET.com's podcast of indeterminate length"), the show stars CNET editors Tom Merritt, "the segue king," Molly Wood, "queen of the rant," and Veronica Belmont, "the serious-comic relief." Veronica Belmont also doubles as the show's producer. In its public debut on April 29, 2005, the show promised to deliver 5-or-so minutes of Tom & Molly's take on tech news every second day, but has evolved into 30 minutes of tech-related banter and commentary on a daily basis (which is the origin of the "indeterminate length" moniker).

As early as 30 March 2005 during the "pre debut" phase of the podcast, Molly and Tom discussed subjects that have grown into mainstay themes throughout the life of the podcast: patent infringement lawsuits, the Apple iPod, and DRM.

[edit] Format

The show also occasionally features interviews; initially, these were integrated as a part of the show, but have since been spun off to their own line of programming due to listener requests. However, on occasion interviews are put on the main feed (see November 30th and December 1st).

Listeners to the show are encouraged to submit their comments by email or by telephone, as well as to post to the Buzz Out Loud Forums (Buzz Out Loud Lounge). Most aired comments are included in the show's e-mail newsletter, which is available from the show's home page.

In November 2005, the show gained Earthlink as a sponsor. This marked the beginning of a period of continuity for the show, as almost all of the episodes have featured the trio of commentators. The exceptions of which usually involve one of the commentators being unavailable to record due to business trips, sick days, or vacations. In late March 2006, Buzz Out Loud switched to a new Earthlink sponsorship, having 11 different ads instead of the previous 1. Now they alternate between the 11 ads in the middle of the show and a longer ad at the end of the show.

On occasion, the Buzz Out Loud crew records live shows at technology trade shows, such as recordings done from CES and Macworld done in January of 2006 and 2007. These live shows can include a live audience, comprised of fans of the show, and discussions on the different products that the commentators have been able to examine. Other times, one of the hosts will attend a live event, such as Molly at the former E3, and instead call in to the show before, during or after the event with updated information. They recently did a video episode of Buzz Out Loud at the San Francisco premiere of Snakes on a Plane. At CES 2007, video of the Buzz Out Loud podcast recording sessions were streamed live.

A running gag in the show is that each day is an official US holiday, though the holidays cited are often whimsical in nature. The holidays are cited from this calendar. source

[edit] Interview History

• October 5, 2005 - John Battelle
• October 7, 2005 - Lawrence Lessig
• October 13, 2005 - Jason Calacanis
• October 14, 2005 - Esther Dyson
• October 18, 2005 - Rick Munarriz
• October 26, 2005 - Cory Doctorow
• November 1, 2005 - Ted Schadler
• November 7, 2005 - Ravi Jain
• November 9, 2005 - Jason Schultz
• November 22, 2005 - Kevin Rose
• February 2, 2006 - Leo Laporte
• February 8, 2006 - Shelby Bonnie
• March 20, 2006 - David Pogue
• March 8, 2006 - Grant Imahara and Peter Rees from Mythbusters
• March 27, 2006 - Shannon Coulter
• March 31, 2006 - Craig Newmark
• April 14, 2006 - David Pogue
• June 19, 2006 - Lorin Thwaits
• June 21, 2006 - Zack Anderson
• September 15, 2006 - Steve Wozniak
• September 21, 2006 - Jim Kerstetter
• November 23, 2006 - Leo Laporte
• November 30, 2006 - Fritz Attaway, Executive Vice President and Special Policy Advisor of the MPAA
• December 1, 2006 - Gary Schapiro, President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association
• March 2, 2007 - Patrick Norton and Roger Chang of DL.tv
• March 12, 2007 - Regina Lynn

[edit] Guest hosts

In the past, when either Tom or Molly cannot make it into the studio, CNET has had other employees fill in. This previously was the show's producer, Veronica (who is now a regular on the show instead), but has also included CNET's editor at large Brian Cooley, senior associate editor Tim Moynihan, At Work editor Rafe Needleman, senior editor Rich DeMuro, and the late digital music editor James Kim (1971-2006).

[edit] External links

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• CNET Podcast Central
• Buzz Out Loud Show Page
• Buzz Out Loud Lounge

• Show Archive from Odeo
• Tom Merritt's Web Site
• Molly Wood's Web Site
• Veronica Belmont's Web Site