Jeff Bakalar

Jeff Bakalar
Born Jeffrey Ian Bakalar
(1982-03-24) March 24, 1982
Brooklyn, New York
Education Towson University
Years active 2004-present
Known for podcaster, celebrity interviewer, videogames journalist
Notable work
  • The 404 Show
  • Mest: Seven Deadly Sins
  • Pre-Game
  • Giant BeastCast
Spouse(s) Stacie Blair Bakalar (2010-present)[1]
Children 1

Jeffrey Ian Bakalar (born March 24, 1982) is a professional podcaster, videogames journalist, and currently the host of CNET's longest running podcast,[2] The 404 Show. He is also the site's lead senior videogames editor as well as on-air talent for CNET Video[3] and a member of the Giant Beastcast on Giant Bomb.

Personal

Bakalar was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1982[4] and was raised in Briarwood, Queens before his family relocated to Marlboro Township, New Jersey where he attended Marlboro High School. He graduated from Towson University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Electronic Media and Film where he won an award for a mockumentary he directed called Adult Swim.[5]

In 2010 he married his longtime girlfriend, Stacie Blair Davis, who took his last name and is now known as Stacie Blair Bakalar.[6]

He currently lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Career

During his college years, Bakalar worked as a production office intern for actor and producer Bob Balaban[7] in New York City at his production company Chicagofilms[8] while Balaban completed work on Gosford Park.

In 2004, he signed a contract with Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Maverick Records to direct and produce a documentary for the pop punk band Mest. The documentary, entitled Seven Deadly Sins[9] was released as a pack-in bonus with copies of the band's 2005 album Photographs (Mest album) which peaked at 116 on the US Billboard 200 chart.[10]

In 2007, Bakalar joined CNET as a home theater and gaming editor, but quickly began appearing in front of the camera and eventually starting a technology and pop culture podcast called The 404 Show with Randall Bennett and Wilson Tang.[11] The show had a slow start, but grew in popularity over the years and eventually became a regular press junket stop in New York City, attracting notable guests like Tony Hawk, Marc Maron,[12] John Hodgman, Shaun White, Wayne Brady, Scott Aukerman, Michael Showalter,[13] Andrew W.K. and others. Each year the podcast is performed live at the Consumer Electronics Show where it has featured prominent celebrities like Danny DeVito,[14] Eliza Dushku, Felicia Day and others.

In 2012, Bakalar started CNET's first-ever weekly tech parody comic called Low Latency, which he writes and is illustrated by Blake Stevenson.[15]

Bakalar briefly co-hosted another CNET franchise, Pre-Game, but stopped production after a year of programming to focus more on The 404 Show.[16]

Bakalar is a member of the New York Videogame Critics Circle,[17] an advocacy group for game writers in and around the New York City area.

He regularly appears on TV and radio as a technology, pop culture and videogame expert. His spots include G4's Attack of the Show,[18] NPR's All Things Considered,[19] and CNBC's Power Lunch[20] among others.

In late 2014, Bakalar joined CBSN[21] as a regularly appearing tech and pop-culture pundit representing CNET.

On May 22, 2015 he joined the cast of Giant Bomb's Giant Beastcast.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "The 404: Talking to Stacie Bakalar (VIDEO) - The Huffington Post". 2013-07-29. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Interview: CNETís The 404 podcast - Reckoner". http://reckoner.com.au/. 2014-07-30. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Senior Editor / Reviews - Gaming, Video". http://cnet.com. 2007-04-23. Retrieved August 16, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  4. ↑ "Jeff Bakalar - IMDb". http://imdb.com. 2005-03-22. Retrieved August 16, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  5. ↑ "2005 Winners". 2005-09-20. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  6. ↑ "The 404 699: Where it's one down, two to go (podcast)". 2010-11-01. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  7. ↑ "The 404 Yuletide Mini-sode 2013: Steve Guttenberg takes over (podcast)". 2013-12-27. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Linkedin: Jeff Bakalar". 2009-11-11. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Mest: Seven Deadly Sins (2005 Video)". http://imdb.com. 2005-10-18. Retrieved August 16, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  10. ↑ "Mest | Awards". http://allmusic.com. 2014-05-30. Retrieved August 16, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  11. ↑ "Interview: CNETís The 404 podcast - Reckoner". http://reckoner.com.au/. 2014-07-30. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  12. ↑ "The 404 1,479: Where we don't give credit on the grab (podcast)". http://cnet.com/. 2014-05-06. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  13. ↑ "The 404 634: Where Michael Showalter... (podcast)". http://cnet.com/. 2010-07-30. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  14. ↑ "The 404 at CES 2013: Where we pay tribute to Danny DeVito (podcast)". http://cnet.com/. 2013-01-09. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Meet Crave's new cartoonist, Blake Stevenson". http://cnet.com/. 2011-12-15. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Interview: CNETís The 404 podcast - Reckoner". http://reckoner.com.au/. 2014-07-30. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Members | New York Videogame Critics Circle". http://nygamecritics.com/. 2013-07-22. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  18. ↑ "The Loop: Week In Review Videos". http://www.g4tv.com/. 2007-11-19. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Concerns Of Racism In Multiplayer Video Games: NPR". http://npr.org. 2010-02-22. Retrieved August 16, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  20. ↑ "Get in the Game". http://video.cnbc.com/. 2010-03-11. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Google expected to unveil its next big thing". http://cbsn.cbsnews.com. 2015-05-22. Retrieved June 29, 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  22. ↑ "Stephen Colbert and The Giant Bombcast launch new ‘casts". The AV Club. 2015-06-08. Retrieved June 29, 2015.

External links

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