Guests

This week, we're joined by David Yas, founder and CEO of the Boston Podcast Network. David's name is attached to about 1000 episodes of various shows, which have altogether garnered over 367,000 downloads. David and I talk about that network of his quite a bit, including how he got into podcasting in the first place, and how he built it up into one of the most successful independent podcast networks in Boston.

Shawn Smith is the owner of Broadcast Dialogue and the parent company Momentum Media Marketing. In this episode we discuss the acquisition of the legendary Canadian broadcast magazine 6 years later. Shawn originally appeared on this podcast in its infancy.

It has been 515 days since we had Fred Jacobs has been on the show. Back then we were unpacking a lot of the surprising results from a Covid induced Tech Survey. This time we have the benefit of catching up on three pieces of research that I felt needed discussing: The two Tech Survey's for Public Radio and Commercial radio, and the AQ4 Survey which targets air talent.

Jeff Woods has a new podcast! The Host of Radio Records and Rockstars unleashes the Blue Hotel.

Jay Nachlis recently celebrated 5 years at Coleman Insights, he admitted that "not every career move I've made was the best decision, but every one of them was important for different reasons. With every single one, I made lasting friendships, learned from mistakes, and got better." Which is why he ascended to VP of Media Research at Coleman Insights earlier this year. I had the opportunity to meet Jay at Podcast Movement earlier this year and found ourselves talking about Canadian radio, Buffalo, the Buffalo Bills, podcasting, and more Buffalo Bills.

Matt speaks to Dervla Trainor about V.O. North which takes place September 16-18 at the Pantages Hotel in Toronto.

This episode, versatility is the word of the day. Sam Cook is currently the host and executive producer of The Shot, a singer/songwriter competition show filmed in Toronto, but she's also spent time as a radio host, podcaster, VO artist, and on-screen with other TV networks like YTV.

Todd Cochrane is a guest you might recognize. Last time he was on the show, in October 2019, we kept things fairly light. This time, however, diving straight into the deep end on the technical side of podcasting: RSS feeds, micro payments, Podcast 2.0, and what the future might look like for podcasts. If you're a creator who cares about the computer mumbo-jumbo that goes on behind the scenes, this episode is for you.

Jeff Winskell is a bit of an anomaly in radio. Most folks attend university courses specifically tailored to broadcast, which leads them into the industry naturally, but Jeff went from film student to radio show producer in just a few years.

Jenn Dalen-Gordon is the operations manager for the Interior stations of British Columbia for Stingray Radio. She also oversees about 20 other Country stations under the Real Country and New Country moniker.

I know what you are thinking; with a title like that, the episode involves Rush. It does not. But given all the discussion of Ari's upbringing in the Suburbs of Toronto, and his affinity for playing the bass, this lyric from the song Subdivisions came to my head.

This week's show features yet another broadcast icon who I've been a fan of for a long time. Eric Zane is one of many former radio hosts who've made the transition into podcasting, and he's done it more successfully than most. Back when I met Eric in 2019, I knew him from the Free Beer & Hot Wings radio show out of Grand Rapids, Michigan- a show he'd just begun to pivot away from to debut his own podcast. But this was 2019, and it wasn't so easy back then to make the switch. Eric was one of the first to pick up on the new wave of monetization for podcasting, a wave we're all still riding to this day, and The Eric Zane Show remains a gold standard podcast 3 years later.

Jamie Cawdell is the Assistant Programme Controller at Radio Essex in England. He is also the curator the CHR Prep Service which is used on radio stations around the world including Virgin Radio in Canada and Z100 in New York.

Aaron Rand has been on Montreal since the 70’s. I didn’t catch on to his show until the mid 80’s where he became a household name, despite working at some radio stations that weren’t known for their ratings. Right around the time AM started its decline, Aaron Rand’s show started to take off. I ran into Aaron at (what I think is North America’s best restaurant) Joe Beef while having dinner with another Montreal radio icon, Terry Dimonte. The next thing said at the table was pretty obvious – although i think it might have been a look… ya gotta get him on your show.

A lot of radio personalities are initially attracted to the medium because of the music. But some hosts, like Sylvia Alvarado, go far beyond a passing interest. As the midday host on KOMP 92.3 in Vegas, she's had incredible interviews with some of the biggest stars in rock music: Slash, Pat Carney from The Black Keys, Zakk Wylde, and Matt Schultz from Cage The Elephant, just to name a few.

I have launched a new podcast! With a little help from my Podcast Super Friends. In the past you have heard stories from for radio program director Jon Gay aka Jag in Detroit, and Catherine O'Brien from Branch Out Programs. Meet Johnny Peterson who is the same age as my twin boys.

Every time we have a radio veteran on the podcast, the conversation shifts to the future of radio at least once. But it's always about the future with Marty Forbes. He always has had an eye towards it. It's no secret that the broadcast industry is struggling to keep up with the times. But few guests have quite the depth of insight into radio's slow demise that Marty Forbes brings.

Arielle Nissenblatt's podcast journey started with a newsletter and a call to Dan Franks and Jared Easley, the co-founders of Podcast Movement. Since then she has grown the Ear Buds Collective Newsletter, joined the team at Squadcast as Community Manager, and is now creating social media content at Sounds Profitable and co-hosting the flagship show with Bryan Barletta.

This is year three of the pandemic. Three years of being stuck in our houses. When was the last time you went for a walk with your friends? One of the nest things that came out of the pandemic was reconnecting with the simople act of going for a walk. There's something magical and simple about wandering around with someone you love to talk to, tasting the fresh air, being immersed in nature, and checking out cool hidden spots you've never been to before.

The show has been very Canada-centric for the last few weeks, so it felt like there was no better time to bring on a broadcast legend from another part of the world. This week's guest, Nails Mahoney, has been hosting top-rated radio shows in Ireland and the UK for decades. He's also worked as a TV presenter in Ireland, and performed onstage as a stand-up comedian and keynote/guest speaker at more than 30 workshops like TEDx Dublin. But don't drift away yet, our Canadian audience! Nails has also spent time in Canadian radio, including several years at Q107.

It's not unusual for me to bring old friends onto the show. In fact, a good chunk of our episodes have come about because of existing connections I've had in the broadcast industry. What is unusual, though, is for me to bring on a friend from all the way back in elementary school- one who's also had an incredible broadcast career, and who until recording this episode, I hadn't spoken to since 1984. This week's guest, Adrian Harewood, has been with the CBC since 2006. Once upon a time, he was the host of a little radio show called All In A Day on CBC Radio One, but in recent years he's moved in front of the camera and into our homes. He's currently the host of CBC News Ottawa at 6, and has been a guest host on other CBC shows like As It Happens, Sounds Like Canada and The Current. He's also a full-time Professor of Journalism at Carleton University. I'm not the jealous type, but those are some lucky students. It may also interest you to know that before his time at the CBC, Adria…

In the 6 years since we started a podcast, there has been a total of one (1) request for a transcription of an episode. That was the Natasha Gargiulo episode back in 2018, and the person asking was hearing impaired. Natasha has a very large Canadian following, and I would have been more than happy to help out one of her followers. Sadly, at the time, I was largely clueless on how to do this. Today, I am happy to report that I know a little more on the topic.

In this episode, I speak to Jeff about his long and illustrious radio career, during which he found himself in quite a few "interesting" situations, as well as its rather abrupt end. We also talk about how he fell in love with Vegas, why he decided to start podcasting, how he built up his show, and the effect 2 years of COVID restrictions had on his show- A show which mainly revolved around him flying from Canada to Vegas 8 times a year. Yeah, it wasn't pretty. With that being said, now that he can head back to Sin City, the podcast is back with a vengeance.

If you've ever taken a look at the other shows we offer on the Soundoff Podcast Network, this week's guest should sound quite familiar. Mark Sutcliffe is the host of the Digging Deep podcast, one of our largest shows, where he uses the knowledge gained from his lengthy and prolific career in the broadcast industry to give some seriously gripping interviews. There's a reason I said "In the broadcast industry" there, and not just "In broadcasting." And that's because Mark has seen just about every side of the industry. I can't really sum up his career any better than the About section on his personal website, so in Mark's own words: "I've been a daily newspaper columnist, a talk-radio host, a baseball play-by-play announcer, a Sunday-morning political TV host, and more. And I’ve been a proud volunteer, activist and community leader. I am a member of the Order of Ottawa and was named the United Way’s ambassador of the year." He's also been a management consultant, entrepreneur, and…