Tom Merritt

Thomas Andrew Merritt was (born June 28, 1970) in Greenville, Illinois. He is an Executive Editor for CNET and the developer and co-host of CNET networks' daily podcast Buzz Out Loud along with Molly Wood. He is also the author of CNET's "The Real Deal" , a regular column & podcast (co-hosted with Rafe Needleman) dealing with consumer technology. He also co-hosts CNET Live with fellow editor Brian Cooley.

Born in Greenville Illinois, Merritt's father worked on the Coffee Mate project as a food scientist. Merritt received a BS in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and pursued graduate work in communications at the University of Texas at Austin.

Tom's foray into the world of radio began in 1986 as a DJ for WGEL, a country music station located in Greenville, Illinois. In 1993, Merritt worked as an intern for National Public Radio's "Morning Edition". From 1999 to 2004 Merritt worked for TechTV in San Francisco as an Executive Web Producer and served as a radio host with TechTV until 2003. Tom Merritt started his current job with CNET in 2004. In addition to his duties as co-host of Buzz Out Loud, Merritt hosts a podcast with Roger Chang called East Meets West which deal with various issues such as technology, sports, and politics.

In February 2006, Merritt appeared on This Week In Tech as a guest host. Merritt is married to Eileen Rivera and they live in Oakland, California.