American technology broadcaster, author, and entrepreneur
Leo Laporte
|
---|
Laporte pictured in 2007
|
Born
| (
1956-11-29
)
November 29, 1956
(age 67)
|
---|
Occupations
| - TV and radio presenter
- podcaster
|
---|
Known for
| Founding
TWiT.tv
|
---|
Notable credits
| |
---|
Television
| Internet! (PBS), The Site (MSNBC), Call for Help (ZDTV/TechTV), The Screen Savers (ZDTV/TechTV)
|
---|
Spouses
| - Jennifer Laporte (divorced)
- Lisa Laporte (
m.
c.
2015
)
|
---|
Website
| leo
.fm
|
---|
Leo Laporte
(
; born November 29, 1956)
[1]
is the former host of
The Tech Guy
weekly radio show
[2]
and founder of
TWiT.tv
, an Internet
podcast
network focusing on technology. He is also a former
TechTV
technology host (1998?2008) and a technology author. On November 19, 2022, actor, writer, musician, and comedian
Steve Martin
called into Laporte's radio show to announce Leo's retirement from
The Tech Guy
radio show.
[3]
Laporte's last new radio show was December 18, 2022 with reruns for the remainder of the year. Rich DeMuro later appeared on the show to announce that he will be taking over in January with a weekly show, recorded on Saturdays, called "Rich On Tech."
[4]
Background
[
edit
]
Laporte was born in New York City,
[5]
the son of geologist Leo F. Laporte. He studied Chinese history at
Yale University
before dropping out in his junior year to pursue a career in radio broadcasting,
[6]
where his early on-air names were Dave Allen and Dan Hayes.
[7]
He began his association with computers with his first home computer, an
Atari 400
.
[5]
By 1984 he owned a
Macintosh
and wrote a software review for
Byte magazine
.
[8]
Television and radio
[
edit
]
Laporte has worked on technology-related broadcasting projects, including
Dvorak on Computers
in January 1991 (co-hosted with technology writer
John C. Dvorak
), and
Laporte on Computers
on
KGO Radio
and
KSFO
in
San Francisco
.
[9]
In 1997, Laporte was awarded a Northern California
Emmy
for his role as
Dev Null
, a
motion capture
character on the
MSNBC
show
The Site
.
In 1998, Laporte created and co-hosted
The Screen Savers
,
[10]
and the original version of
Call for Help
on the cable and satellite network
ZDTV
(later
TechTV
).
[11]
Laporte hosted the daily television show
The Lab with Leo Laporte
, recorded in
Vancouver
,
British Columbia
, Canada. The program was formerly known as
Call for Help
when it was recorded in the US and
Toronto
,
Ontario
, Canada. The series aired on
G4 Canada
, on the
HOW TO Channel
in Australia, on several of Canada's
Citytv
affiliates, and on
Google Video
. On March 5, 2008, Laporte confirmed on
net@nite
that
The Lab with Leo Laporte
[12]
had been canceled by
Rogers Communications
. The
HOW TO Channel
did not air the remaining episodes after it was announced the show had been canceled.
[13]
[14]
He hosted, until December 2022, a weekend technology-oriented
talk radio
program show titled
Leo Laporte:
The Tech Guy
. The show, started on
KFI AM 640
(Los Angeles), was syndicated through
Premiere Radio Networks
. Laporte appeared on Friday mornings on KFI with
Bill Handel
, and previously on such shows as
Showbiz Tonight
,
[15]
Live with Kelly
,
[16]
and
World News Now
.
He holds an
amateur radio
license, W6TWT.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
Laporte has written technology-oriented books including:
- Smith, Gina
; — (1 March 1995).
101 Computer Answers You Need To Know
.
Ziff-Davis Press
.
ISBN
978-1562763398
.
LCCN
95159818
.
OCLC
32516630
.
OL
873902M
. Retrieved
31 December
2021
– via
Internet Archive
.
- —;
Branwyn, Gareth
(1 October 2004).
Leo Laporte's Guide to TiVo
. Indianapolis, IN:
Que Publishing
.
ISBN
978-0789731951
.
LCCN
2004107054
.
OCLC
57086528
.
OL
3314839M
. Retrieved
1 January
2022
– via
Internet Archive
.
- —; Stauffer, Todd (8 November 2004).
Leo Laporte's 2005 Mac Gadget Guide
. Indianapolis, IN:
Que Publishing
.
ISBN
978-0789731746
.
LCCN
2004107074
.
OCLC
56658424
.
OL
3314849M
. Retrieved
31 December
2021
– via
Internet Archive
.
- —; Stauffer, Todd (1 August 2005).
Leo Laporte's Guide to Mac
OS
X Tiger
. Indianapolis, IN:
Que Publishing
.
ISBN
978-0789733931
.
LCCN
2005922649
.
OCLC
60320459
.
OL
8157794M
. Retrieved
1 January
2022
– via
Internet Archive
.
- —; Soper, Mark Edward (September 1, 2005).
Leo Laporte's PC Help Desk
. Indianapolis, IN:
Que Publishing
.
ISBN
978-0789733948
.
LCCN
2005924991
.
OCLC
62382528
.
OL
8157795M
. Retrieved
January 1,
2022
– via
Internet Archive
.
- Bacon, Jono
(27 August 2009).
"Foreword from the First Edition"
.
The Art of Community: Building the New Age of Participation (Theory in Practice)
. Foreword by Leo Laporte (Second ed.).
O'Reilly Media
. pp. ix?x.
ISBN
978-0596156718
.
LCCN
2010277242
.
OCLC
804515247
.
OL
24194264M
– via
Internet Archive
.
He has published a yearly series of technology almanacs:
Laporte announced in October 2006 that he would not renew his contract with
Que Publishing
, and had retired from publishing books.
In 2008, Laporte did a voice narration of
Andrew Lang
's fable
The True History of Little Golden-hood
[17]
from
Audible (Amazon)
, a sponsor.
[18]
Podcasting
[
edit
]
Laporte owns and operates a
podcast
network,
TWiT.tv
with his wife
[19]
Lisa Laporte. Before the expansion to new facilities in 2011, Laporte said TWiT earned
US$1.5
million (equivalent to $2,030,000 in 2023) annually on a production cost of
US$350,000
(equivalent to $474,000 in 2023).
[20]
In a 2012
Reddit
posting, he commented that revenue was approaching
US$4
million (equivalent to $5,420,000 in 2023).
[21]
The TWiT studios are located in
Petaluma
,
California
,
[10]
where Laporte lives.
[22]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
— (December 4, 2021).
"The Tech Guy #1849"
.
TWiT.tv
(Podcast). Event occurs at 17:37
. Retrieved
December 31,
2021
.
- ^
"Leo Laporte, Your Go-To Gadget Guy"
.
Premiere Networks
. n.d. Archived from
the original
on November 10, 2021
. Retrieved
January 3,
2022
.
- ^
Laporte, Lisa.
"The Secret Is Out!"
.
TWiT.tv
. Retrieved
November 21,
2022
.
- ^
"Rich on Tech | Premiere Networks"
.
www.premierenetworks.com
. Retrieved
December 21,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Focus On: Leo"
.
G4
. n.d. Archived from
the original
on September 26, 2006
. Retrieved
January 1,
2022
.
- ^
Schwartzman, Eric (1 September 2005).
"How to Pitch Leo Laporte of TWiT"
.
On the Record Online Podcast
(Podcast)
. Retrieved
31 December
2021
.
- ^
TwitLive Broadcast, after hours, 9 December 2008
- ^
Laporte, Leo (1 December 1984).
"Habadex on Apple's Macintosh"
.
Byte
. Vol. 9, no. 13. pp. A102?A105.
ISSN
0360-5280
. Retrieved
29 October
2022
– via
Internet Archive
.
- ^
Friess, Steve (October 3, 2006).
"Podcasting's Reluctant Evangelist"
.
WIRED
.
eISSN
1078-3148
.
ISSN
1059-1028
.
OCLC
24479723
.
Archived
from the original on November 9, 2020
. Retrieved
December 31,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Hiner, Jason (April 19, 2015).
"The New Screen Savers: TWiT resurrects the show that launched tech video into the stratosphere"
.
ZDNet
.
Archived
from the original on November 23, 2021
. Retrieved
January 1,
2022
.
- ^
Marriott, Michael (December 21, 2003).
"COVER STORY; Plug In, Boot Up, Feel Free to Melt Down"
.
The New York Times
.
eISSN
1553-8095
.
ISSN
0362-4331
.
OCLC
1645522
.
Archived
from the original on October 27, 2021
. Retrieved
December 31,
2021
.
- ^
"The Lab with Leo Laporte"
.
Internet Archive
. n.d
. Retrieved
January 1,
2022
.
- ^
Vapor, Matt (March 27, 2008).
"Lab with Leo off TV in Australia ? Let us See the Remaining Episodes"
.
Matt Vapor's Blog | Advocating Technology for Everyone
. Archived from
the original
on August 4, 2008
. Retrieved
January 1,
2022
.
- ^
Vapor, Matt (March 27, 2008).
"Response from How-To Channel Australia Regarding The Lab with Leo"
.
Matt Vapor's Blog | Advocating Technology for Everyone
. Archived from
the original
on August 4, 2008
. Retrieved
January 1,
2022
.
- ^
Bryant, Karyn
;
Hammer, A.J.
(July 25, 2005). "Man Convicted for Cameron Diaz Nude Photo Scam; Clay Aiken Answers Questions About Charity; iPod Nation: Why Are They So Popular?".
Showbiz Tonight
. Season 1. Episode 76.
CNN
.
RUSH TRANSCRIPT
.
- ^
"Leoville: Live with Regis and Kelly"
. January 22, 2007. Archived from
the original
on March 12, 2007
. Retrieved
January 1,
2022
.
- ^
"The Red Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang : THE TRUE HISTORY OF LITTLE GOLDEN HOOD"
. Archived from
the original
on January 21, 2015
. Retrieved
January 21,
2015
.
- ^
"this WEEK in TECH 152"
.
TWiT.tv
. 21 July 2008. Archived from
the original
(XML)
on 21 January 2015
. Retrieved
20 February
2023
.
- ^
Danae Ringelmann
interviewed on the TV show
Triangulation
on the
TWiT.tv
network
- ^
Cashmore, Pete
(October 3, 2009).
"Leo Laporte Makes $1.5
Million Per Year from Podcasting"
.
Mashable
.
Archived
from the original on April 19, 2021
. Retrieved
January 1,
2022
.
- ^
— (2012).
"Reddit - /r/IAmA | I am Leo
Laporte, Chief
TWiT. AMA!"
.
Reddit
. Retrieved
January 1,
2022
.
- ^
"TWiT Eastside Studio FAQ"
.
The Official TWiT Wiki
.
External links
[
edit
]