The Sound Off Podcast

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...

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 fir...

Jimmy Fink has one of radio's most storied careers. It includes legendary call letters like WHFS, WPLJ (when it was an AOR station), WXRK (K-Rock, the station where Howard Stern worked in the 90's through to Sirius) and now 107.1 The Peak. It is also the station that brought Jimmy back to radio after he left it in the late 90's. In this episode you will hear about Jimmy's early days in radio, how...

I had my first trip to Dallas last August and was looking forward to a few things: Visiting the Texas School Book Depository, Eating some Texas BBQ, and listening to the radio. We did all three but I did not check out a lot of country radio which is weird because Dallas radio is full of country music, sports, and is the home of the venerable Kidd Kraddick show. It also has some legendary personali...

Jeff Smulyan is the founder and CEO of Emmis Communications, creator of all sports radio, one time owner of the Seattle Mariners, and now an author. He has written a book called Never Ride a Roller Coaster Upside Down which chronicles his career as a leader in broadcasting. In this episode, you will hear why Jeff chose to study telecommunications and history at the University of Southern Californi...

It's been two and a half years since we had Jeff Vidler on the show. It doesn't feel like that because I am subscribed to Signal Hill's Newsletter, attend a number of their webcasts, and meet up with Jeff at Podcast conferences like Podcast Movement and Radio Days North America. All that to say, the last time we spoke to Jeff we were in the throes of a pandemic. Now we are well on the other side o...

Vinnie Taylor is one half of Stingray's morning show on Real Country 95.5 in Red Deer, Alberta. His career has spanned the 80's to now. We have heard from his co-host Randi Chase on two separate occasions on this show, and thought it was about time we heard from the other half of the show. In this episode you will hear how Vinnie was raised on 630 CHED... and started his radio career in Weyburn, S...

We figured that after 7 years, we should have a trailer. The show has evolved nicely over the last few years and we thank you for your support by: Telling a Friend about the show Sharing the show on Social Media Sending us Money or Giving us a Boost Big thanks to Chloe Emond-Lane for helping to write this, and to Evan Surminski for the production. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy an...

Back in 2018, Corey Dylan was on the show and her episode about being resilient was one of our most downloaded. Things like unemployment, restructuring, and looking for work in radio are rather evergreen. However, attitudes need to shift as programmers are hiring differently than they were a few years ago. In this episode, Corey and I discuss resiliency (again), attitudes when looking for work, an...

In all the years we've been doing this podcast, we've seen lots of radio lovers come and go. That might lead you to believe you've seen the most knowledgeable, radio-obsessed folks in the industry already, but believe me when I say they pale in comparison to Kat Carter. Kat, also known as The Radio Nerd, has made her whole brand based on knowing cool things about radio (if that wasn't obvious from...

Ian Leonard is the Chief Meteorologist at Fox 9 in Minneapolis. Sadly, this is a channel that I do not get in Winnipeg. Ian and I worked together on Stony Plain Road in Edmonton back in the 90's. What I didn't know is that he is a second generation broadcaster, grew up around the TV station and there was a moment in 2002 when he and his wife Christy decided to take a chance and head south. In this...

This week, we've got another long-time radio industry veteran, Rob Creighton. You might not know his name up here in Canada, but down in the States, he's been running shows from Lubbock, Texas to Chicago, Illinois for the last few decades. Nowadays, Rob has moved away from the stations and back to his home state of Missouri to work with Townsquare Media. They're a name you might recognize if you'v...

This week's guest is Manitoba local, Flames Nation legend, and recent podcast convert Dean "Boomer" Molberg. Dean hosts the Barn Burner podcast, a show dedicated to everything Calgary Flames-related, along with his long-time cohost/friend Ryan Pindler and former Flames player Rhett Warrener. But much like many of our guests, Dean has a long and storied history in radio. He's been in the industry f...

If you've ever wondered what our show might look like if it was built by a millennial, look no further than The Radio Fam . It's a YouTube-first podcast that's not unlike this one, and today's guest is its owner and creator, Marie. The Radio Fam' s mission statement is to break the mold of mainstream radio stations' crappy social media integration. All the way back in 2009, Marie was aware that mo...

This week's guest is Dave Beasing. Dave is the CEO of Sound That BRANDS, an audio production and consultation company with a focus on creating brand-affiliated podcasts. We talk with Dave about his career in media branding, the philosophy behind Sound That BRANDS, and what makes a good branded podcast compared to a lazy one. Of course, we also dig into all the services the company offers, such as...

It is fitting that this episode is being published on World Radio Day. Cathy Faulkner worked at KISW in Seattle from 1981 through to the early 2000's. She spent most of her time as the station's music director and on air. During that period, Cathy championed the local music scene and had a front row view to the ascension of Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and some of the Seattle bands that d...

This week we're joined by Dean Blundell to talk about his newest venture: Crier Media. It's the best way to find all the blog and podcast content you love from Dean's network, all in one place, but it's also a lot more than that. It's a cooperative of podcasters, writers, bloggers, and all kinds of folks from the radio industry who got sick of seeing big radio companies prioritize the wrong things...

Paul and Fred Jacobs start off every year by going to Consumer electronics Show in Las Vegas. It invigorates and really sets the table for the year. The show takes place the first week of January when many are still in their Christmas and New Year's stupor when many are unaware of what day it is. In this episode, I ask Paul about what he saw at CES and discuss the dash, AI, the future of AM radio,...

Adam Seaborn is a sports media analyst and head of partnerships at Playmaker Capital. Last year, the Nation Network was purchased for $15 million and perhaps a few eyebrows went up. By 2023 standards, it appears to be a bargain given the dissolution of notable sports radio properties that have disappeared in markets like Calgary, Vancouver, Hamilton and Winnipeg. Of note, Maryann Turke who ran Bel...

Buzz Knight should be a familiar name to anyone who's followed us for a while. He's been on the podcast twice before, and we've talked at length about his show, Takin' A Walk: Music History On Foot . This week, we're doing a full-on feed swap! If you're somehow unaware of Buzz and the concept behind Takin' A Walk, it's a show designed around the simple pleasure of a refreshing walk and a good conv...

At its core, podcasting has always been about marketing. So it should come as more surprise that Danny Brown found his way into podcasting. I first became aware of Danny when I found his assisting many others on Facebook groups with typical podcast problems like, "How do I get more Downloads?", and "I just bought a Blue Yeti and it sucks, what is a better podcast mic to use?" That led to Danny bec...

Randi Chase is back for another round on the show. The last time we had her on in 2018, we talked about her adventures up and down the radio dial in 7 Canadian markets- she was certainly living a "WKRP in Cincinnati" lifestyle. She's remained at the same station since 2018, but a few changes have taken place. Firstly, she moved to Red Deer, and her morning show with Vinny Taylor is now simulcast a...

It's that time of year again. Chestnuts are roasting on open fires, homes are lit up like the Las Vegas strip, presents are under trees, and I'm sitting down with my good friend Terry DiMonte for the 7th annual Very Terry Christmas. It's our favourite tradition, especially since we no longer live close enough to each other to go out for drinks together. Although if I'm honest, the theme of this ep...

Rob Greenlee returns to the show. He last appeared back in 2017 just after we did a panel on podcasting at the Conclave in Minneapolis. Rob is someone I hear from every week as he co-hosts the New Media Show with Todd Cochrane. So even though he has not appeared on this show I feel as though I he from him every week. Rob has a new position as SVP of Content and Partnerships. He had been with Libsy...

The last time we had Dani Stover on the show, she was between opportunities and wondering what her relationship with radio should be shaped like. It turns out that she has answered that question and the answer is a new role in the evenings on 640 Toronto. Over the last while she has been producing alongside daytime host Kelly Cutrara and now Dani takes control of 7-10pm in the region on 640 Toront...