Jason Dixon has been with Sirius XM since 2015. How he got there is a sum of all the parts that come before that. An internship at 970 WFLA after hearing about it in a TV and radio class, a transition to the Power Pig where he shares a number of fun stories, launching what would become WDAE, followed by 8 years at the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jason later had stints in North Carolina and Detroit. In this episode you will hear stories from all these stops; which means you will hear some stories from i...
Dec 20, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 382
The Canadian Radio Awards are here! In this special bonus episode, we go over the results one-by-one and give you our thoughts on the lineup this year, as well as speaking to some of the winners about their year in radio. The categories and their winners are as follows: Station of the Year - presented by NLogic Major - 94.5 Virgin Radio (CFBT-FM), Bell Media , Vancouver Medium - Energy 106 (CHWE-FM), Evanov Communications . Winnipeg Small - 103.5 Capital FM (CKGC-FM), Northern Lights Entertainme...
Dec 14, 2023•46 min
Have you ever thought to yourself, "I'd love to own a radio station"? I know there was a point where I did. If you've ever had that feeling, or still do, today's guest Paul Larsen is the man to talk to. I've been wanting to have Paul on the podcast for years, ever since he bought 103.9 The Lake in Kelowna, B.C. in 2021. Today, he's in the process of selling the station to Pattison. But the same question has been on my mind for nearly three years now: Why on earth would anyone buy a radio station...
Dec 11, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 381
Do you remember last Spring, when the media was all abuzz about AI Ashley, the first-ever artificial intelligence radio DJ? If so, you might remember the name Alpha Media. They're the ones who help bring her to life. (AI Ashley is Ashley “Z” Elzinga) Phil Becker is the Executive Vice President of Content at Alpha Media, and our guest today. He has a hand in the programming and content efforts of over 200 radio stations across America, and quite honestly, he's been on my list of potential podcast...
Dec 05, 2023•55 min•Ep. 380
Terry Dimonte and Ted Bird are Montreal radio legends who started a podcast two years ago after Terry was unceremoniously retired from his morning radio job at CHOM-FM. Ted continues his morning show at Evanov's Lite 106.7 which serves the West Island. The podcast started as a one season affair that is now in its 6th season featuring amazing guests like Brice Hills and Mitch Garber. These names may mean nothing to you but I know you have heard of Just for Laughs and the Seattle Kraken - so these...
Nov 27, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 379
It's been 3 and a half years since we have had Steve on the show. The last time I spoke to him, we were trying to figure out how morning shows were going to do what they do everyday... but from home. We pick up where we left off with my first question, "Are we back to Normal?" (As if there was any normal to go to back to) In this episode, Steve and I discuss how his coaching business evolved through the pandemic with less travel but more meetings, morning show dynamics, and I learn thar benchmar...
Nov 21, 2023•36 min•Ep. 378
"It’s all about looking for something that hasn’t been done before, and that will get people talking." - Paige Nienaber Paige is the VP for CPR Promotions, a marketing consultation firm. He consults over 350 stations across the U.S. and Canada. While radio is working through challenges like 40% less cume than a decade ago, and more audio options than ever before, Paige tells us that promotions are alive and well. He looks back at the successful promtions from radio's past that still work today. ...
Nov 09, 2023•45 min•Ep. 377
It's Halloween and way back in the 90's the station I used to work for had this thing called the Howler. It was an out of control good time featuring 5000 people and a band and some beer. Actually a lot of beer. This week I got back together with my old afternoon friend Jake Daniels and we just riffed on all the good times we used to have on air. Our show was always a contrast to the noise going on around us. We didn't need too much else in a show other than admitting we were coming in with noth...
Oct 30, 2023•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 376
Erin Trafford is a co-founder of Story Studio Network, a full service content branding and podcast experience for brands she co-founded with her dad Dave Trafford, who is a radio mainstay in the Greater Toronto Area, and a regular contributor on Newstalk 1010 up until July when layoffs occured. Erin has the unique experience of growing up with a parent in broadcasting, which means you have been immersed in radio (from the inside) all your life. Erin's radio career started with an internship at C...
Oct 24, 2023•54 min•Ep. 375
Jennifer-Lee Gunson is the owner of J-Pod Creations which is a Vancouver based company specializing in branded podcasting. Before Jennifer got started in radio, she was an actor. She later enrolled at BCIT, found her way to Astral owned The Bear, which has now been shifted to the Bounce cluster of Bell properties. She returned to Vancouver after a stint in Prince George and took to the air (literally) doing traffic for CKNW and later Canadian Traffic Network which is where you can hear her today...
Oct 18, 2023•50 min•Ep. 374
Aiden Wolf joins me to shares tips for making it big on YouTube. Over the last few years, podcasters have been trickling onto YouTube as it has proven effective for discovery. However, this does not make podcasters, effective YouTubers. In this episode you will hear Aiden talk about his journey in radio, from morning show host to voiceover artist. But it was his microphone reviews, and unboxings that garnered him a true YouTube audience. YouTube's algorithm is based on the viewer's profile, whic...
Oct 05, 2023•58 min•Ep. 373
The title to this episode was going to be "Cut the Bullshit" which was the name of the Facebook group Jeremy founded a number of years back. Jeremy is a podcast marketer and sherpa who helps brands launch and grow their shows. He acknowledges brightly that every show is different and will have a unique path. The best thing you can do for yourself is register for his newsletter, Creative Wayfinding. Often when I read it, I find it is more about perspective than tips and tricks. In this episode yo...
Sep 28, 2023•39 min•Ep. 372
Fatima Zaidi is the Founder and CEO at Quill Inc. , an award-winning production agency specializing in corporate audio, and CoHost , a podcast growth and analytics tool. In this episode you'll hear Fatima talk about what goes into creating successful and listenable podcasts, how she fell into the tech industry, and the opportunity that presented itself in podcasting. We also discussed why her company created Co-Host which is a podcast analytics and audience insights platform built for brands, an...
Sep 19, 2023•38 min•Ep. 371
For natives of Kelowna, B.C., Stephen Keppler requires no introduction. But on the off chance you're not from around there, Stephen is the morning drive host at Move 101.5 in Kelowna, one of the largest radio shows in B.C. Morning show hosts nowadays have a bit of a reputation for making easy content- lots of audience text and phone lines, asking questions like "What's your worst concert experience? Call in and let us know," so on and so forth. This summer, though, things haven't been quite so e...
Sep 13, 2023•47 min•Ep. 370
Buzz Bishop has long been a name I have been familiar with in Canadian radio, but only last week did I get a chance to connect with him for the first time. A mainstay at Z95, Crave and Virgin 95.3, he segued to Calgary in 2009 where he took up the Top 40 cause at Amp 90.3, before crossing the hall to work at XL103. In recent weeks, he has been joined with Samantha Stevens who is no stranger to Calgary, having worked there twice before. What I really like about Buzz is his passion for radio AND t...
Sep 07, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 369
Sean Ross is back to talk about radio and records. He answers my burning question: What happened to the hits? We also talked about the lost factor, whether "Join the Conversation" radio has run its course, and those songs of summer. We also talked about Radio Days North America, the lack of programming related radio conferences, and why Taylor Swift is as big as the Beatles. Please follow Sean on X Also sign up for his free Newsletter to give yourself a heads up on some really fun columns l ike ...
Sep 02, 2023•39 min•Ep. 368
Sue Haas is an experienced media executive, having worked on a wide variety of teams and projects. She was at Blue Ant Media for over 12 years, managing sales operations as a director and digital media as VP and later SVP. This experience has made her a good fit for her new position as President and COO at NLogic, a company providing audience and commercial analysis tools for the TV and radio broadcast industry, media agencies and more. In this episode, Sue talks about the strategies behind mult...
Aug 17, 2023•32 min•Ep. 367
Josie Fenech has this awesome thing going where she has been apart of a fantastic Ottawa radio story. Hot 89.9 went on the air in 2003 and shortly after Josie joined the station on evenings and later joining the morning show where she was a fixture until 2019. Today she is the National Talent Director for Stingray and their 101 radio stations. We spoke about her career, she caught me up on the new challenges facing CHR radio, how playlists in compiled and what she looks for in a radio demo. I me...
Aug 16, 2023•45 min•Ep. 366
Sam Sethi is setting out on his biggest adventure yet. The host of Podnews Weekly Review and former programmer at Windows and Netscape, is launching Podfans; part of a new wave of podcast apps you can find here on the Podnews website. Over the last few years, podcast shows like Podnews, Pocasting 2.0 with Adam Curry and Dave Jones, and shortly after The New Media Show with Rob Greenlee and Todd Cochrane, began to talk about ways to improve the technology involved with podcast delivery. Think of ...
Aug 09, 2023•50 min•Ep. 365
Lauren Passell is the owner of Tink Media. Her experience in Public Relations . gives her a unique perspective. But simply put, podcasting is public relations. Everything from getting the guest, preparing the show, and marketing and promoting the show is what a great PR firm executes; all in the name of messaging and creating audience awareness. Lauren along with Arielle Nissenblatt, embarked on podcasting's ultimate PR campaign with last April with the "Adopt-a-Listener" podcast initiative to r...
Aug 02, 2023•35 min•Ep. 364
Bryan Goldmark heads up Sales at the Locked On Podcast Network. The Network was founded in 2016 by Utah Jazz radio announcer David Locke and sold in 2021 to Tegna. Today it is home to over 200 podcasts and 25 million listeners who want to enjoy a daily fix from a podcast about their favourite team in the NHL, NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, and College Football. In this episode you will hear all about Bryan's radio experiences. (Spoiler: His dad worked in Radio at stations like WRKO and Hot 97 ...
Jul 20, 2023•35 min•Ep. 363
Jodi Krangle knows audio. She's a long-time VO talent with a voice as smooth as melted butter, and the host of her own podcast, Audio Branding. If our show is trying to find the intersection between podcast and broadcast, then Jodi's has already found the crossroads between voiceover and podcast. With over 100 episodes, she's explored every possible angle for enhancing your business through the use of audio, including podcasts. Jodi and I discuss our love for audio, what got her into it, and the...
Jul 14, 2023•48 min•Ep. 362
This October will be 10 years of Canadaland . Jesse Brown joins me to talk about his short time in radio working for the CBC, and why he started his podcast. In this episode, you will hear why Jesse started Canadaland, his decision to create a network, the incredible story of how the Jian Ghomeshi story broke, and some thoughts about recent laws passed by the Canadian Government that are causing havoc with content creators and news organizations. (Both Canadaland and our parent company, The Soun...
Jul 08, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 361
Coming off the heels of a positive vibe at Radio Days North America, the radio landscape is flooded with bad news regarding 1300 layoffs, 6 Canadian AM radio stations being closed down entirely, Canada's Bill C-18 leading to the throttling or complete shutdown of news on Google and Facebook respectively, Bell asking the CRTC to reduce its local promise of performance and the launch of Futuri Media's Radio GPT on Portland's KBFF leading to some inner-industry outcry. Matt Cundill once again has s...
Jun 28, 2023•15 min•Ep. 360
On this week's edition of "Producers Interviewing Producers," we've got Kattie Laur, a podcast producer from the Toronto area. But she's more than just that. In fact, the main subject of this episode is her newsletter, Pod The North. Pod The North is designed around the idea of creating a community for Canadian podcasters, since in all her years of working with audio, she noticed there wasn't really a space or a resource for us Canucks to come together and talk about podcast stuff. So what could...
Jun 16, 2023•38 min•Ep. 359
This week, we're back with another old friend of the show. Charles Adler was last on in 2019, and at the time, he was about to be on-air with Corus Radio. Nowadays, he's joining the ever-growing list of radio vets who have decided to go digital. Charles is starting up his own podcast, The Charles Adler Show, in just a few weeks. We know this, not just because he told us, but because The Sound Off Media Company is going to be handling the production side for him. We won't be hosting the show, tho...
Jun 09, 2023•51 min•Ep. 358
If you were ever a fan of radio, there's a good chance you had a favourite morning show. A particular host, or group of hosts, who showed up every morning and gave you a laugh or a smile on your way to work. Unfortunately, it's also very likely that your favourite show ended at some point. Time marches on, budgets shift, people change, and eventually the hosts you know and love will inevitably take their services elsewhere. But in this day and age, when radio is on a slow, steady decline, where ...
Jun 06, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 357
A few episodes ago, I interviewed Jeff Smulyan about his new book . As I read the book "Never Ride a Rollercoaster Upside Down" , I wanted to hear more about the construction of some of the great radio stations like KPWR (Power 106) Los Angeles, and Hot 97 in New York. Rick Cummings was apart of those and number of other radio success stories. In this episode, Rick shares some great radio stories like what it was like to build Power 106 using a coalition of records from both pop, dance and Latin...
Jun 02, 2023•45 min•Ep. 356
If you've ever been in radio in North America, either as a producer or as talent, you've probably heard about Morning Show Boot Camp. Heck, you've probably heard us talk about it on the show before. But why should you care? Well, for starters, it's been a killer resource for training radio talent since the 80's. Most broadcasters have either been to a session or know someone who has, because it's developed a reputation for being the best way to keep your on-air skills sharp. And today, we've got...
May 26, 2023•34 min•Ep. 355
The first time I heard about some of the great work Chris Myers was doing was when he was programming the Beat in Vancouver. I managed to get the before story and everything that happened next. It a very extensive collection of working with innovative companies and talented on air people. Companies like Rawlco, Bell Media, Harvard Broadcasting, and smaller outfits like Focus Entertainment, the first owners of the Beat in Vancouver. Chris was recently caught up in layoffs from one of the aforemen...
May 18, 2023•44 min•Ep. 354
