Buzz Out Loud Lounge forum: I'm not feeling Natalie on Buzz out loud.

I see what you mean, but at least Natalie has a pleasant voice. Molly and her irritating voice put me off BOL for a very long time. Now I only have to avoid BOL once a week or so. I was so glad when she left. She would often rant about really stupid topics and quite often she would complain about subjects that she obviously knew nothing about. She proved again and again that her opinion was so skewed sometimes. Many of her rants were based on, "everything should be free and companies do not have the right to defend their products or services."

Not very bright, if you ask me. Good thing no one's asking...

I can honestly say that I've never heard Molly rant about something she knew nothing about. I'm interested in hearing that. If you've got the show number, I'd like to listen to it.

Also, Molly never said everything should be free or that companies couldn't defend themselves. She has, however, said that government should not be used to prop up dying business models.

Give it a try. Don't ask me to do your homework for you ;0)

however, are the one who made the claim. I shouldn't have to prove you right, especially when I disagree. I do appreciate your candor. And I did drop by the wiki. Honestly, I doubt I'll find anything that says "Molly rants about something she knows nothing about." Just a guess, though.

I don't think Natalie is the problem. She's a positive member of the group, she's fun to listen to, and she likes baseball, so that's a positive.

I do think that the show has suffered, however, because of the distance between her, Tom, and Jason. The best of the new shows are when Natalie actually has someone in-studio with her so she can interact in person, rather than in a "phone call" setting. The main problem is that sometimes it's obvious that Natalie is experiencing lag, and then she'll start talking over Tom/Jason and won't hear their response or interjection. It's just that feeling of a "missed connection" that's a detriment to the show. I think they should either move Natalie back to SF, or find someone that is actually in the same time zone.

Again, this is _no reflection_ on Natalie as a member of the Buzz crew--I think she'd be fine in studio. I just think the distance is causing a lot of the issues.

I agree that the lag and distance has something to do with it. But lots of two-host shows or podcasts have to do a call-in or Skype-in sometimes, and many manage to carry on fine. I just think it's possible that Natali isn't as good at a multi-host radio format as Molly is. Doesn't mean she can't get better, but she's not there yet. Seems better suited for a one-person show.

For me, the biggest problem, and something that's almost making the show unlistenable lately (and it's not just Natali) is the segues. And they're getting worse; my gut says that they've gotten worse since Natali came in because she wants them as a way to make sure she's getting enough airtime and seeming like an equal part of the show. But I could be totally wrong about that, cause Tom does them too.

The point is this - no one does them well. Stop it. Stop it stop it stop it. They're almost never clever, they're almost never cute, they're almost never funny. And if you're doing them poorly on purpose in an effort to be ironic, knock that off too, cause it isn't working.

Many shows ("PTI" springs to mind) go from topic to topic in rapid fire succession with no transitions or segues. Segues don't help with pacing, and are amateurish at best. They're totally unnecessary and add nothing to the listener experience.

So, it's either hacky journalism or a poor attempt at comedy. In either case, fail. So quit it. One hundred percent bad idea, all the time.

You guys have such a wonderful show; stop mucking it up with hammy segues.

I believe (almost) every segue that Natali utters sounds like a hand-me-down from Tom. Tom's segues often sound witty and funny, I don't ant a show with absolutely no segue of any kind, but I wouldn't mind it being sprinkled around in a random fashion.

And please cool down on the "here's something that does(n't)..."

That one got old... (for the time being).

See this post: http://forums.cnet.com/5208-10152_102-0.html?messageID=2999692#2999692

Heh, profesional just means I get paid to edit audio. I wear many hats, most of them bowlers.
Most of my work is political so I have to take my goofiness and spread it around the internets.
And by political, I mean porn. Or do I? It's been a long day in front of the computer, goodnight neverland!

PT8 is sexy, I don't use many new features other than the new looks. I upgraded because I bought a new Mac, and AVID likes to tie support for a new OS into new versions.

Most of the Natali's supporters on here are men, since the vast majority of listeners to BOL are men. If Natali was an unattractive man, she would have been canned a long time ago. If you disagree, I respectfully submit that you do not understand the male mind very well.

I'm a guy. Natali is definitely attractive, but it's demeaning and entirely incorrect to judge her work based on her looks, and I totally refuse to do that. I submit that her looks aren't all that important for an audio podcast anyway.

I've softened my position on Nat someone over the last couple of weeks. I still think it's crazy that she's being foisted upon the mainstream media as THE tech expert from cnet. I'm not questioning her ability here; I'm questioning CBS's motivation. I can see Natali for her ability, but clearly there are many people at cnet who are just as knowledgeable, if not more so, than Nat is. Why are they not appearing on the Early Show? It's because unlike me, CBS cares more about her pretty face...which has been the way they've operated forever.

I would hate to see such a bright young person like Natali reduced to a piece of meat for CBS just because execs know they can sell sexy easier than selling information. It's disturbing.

I don't necessarily want Natali to leave BOL anymore. I just want Molly back. And, honestly, I've seen some of Molly's field reporting lately, and I don't think it's the right fit for her either. It's like we're in some alternate universe where Natali and Molly have switched lives. And they don't fit into each other's shoes all that well.

Look, she has an agent, he wouldn't be doing his job if he wasn't selling her tech skill and good looks to the mainstream media.

Don't be daft as to think looks don't have a factor on on-screen talent.

While they do not seem to have a factor in radio, or in our tech knowledge, people who sell others talents use any angle they can.

She's talent, meaning, she's used for whatever quality suits the job. Shes NOT a cnet editor, but she has made written contributions to tech mags and cnet.

She's well qualified to be in tech news, and good looking enough to be on camera. I still don't think she adds much to BOL. Don't worry if you share those feelings, if her agent is doing his job, she won't be on for long.

I love her on the 404 though.

quote = "If Natali was an unattractive man, she would have been canned a long time ago."

Not so, Brian Tong is still on the show.

Don't hate Natali just because she's not Molly.

Just a guest host, so that isn't comparing apples to apples. I suspect a lot of folks would be upset if he was named Molly's replacement.