The Sound Off Podcast

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 episode you will hear about Ian growing up in Edmonton and being apart of television at an...

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've followed the show for a while- we've had a few guests who worked with them, like Melz on the...

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 for decades at this point, but you're most likely to know him from his tenure on the morning...

There was an awful lot of opinions being passed around on social media about radio and where it is at. First comes the news from Futuri that they are releasing Radio GPT which is AI Jocks for your radio station. I cannot for the life of me figure out why people are offended or upset by this. I say.... Bring it. Then there was the launch of 102.7 The Pole in Kingston, Ontario which is cute, clever, sexist, misogynistic dated, archaic, well-written and imaged, and unfolding as we launch this...

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 most stations weren't doing enough to build their brands through the internet, which was where the...

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 free consultation, full documentaries, and the big one: end-to-end production. Sound That...

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 did not get grouped into the G-Word category like Queensryche, and Candlebox. In this episode,...

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. The Sound Off Media Company partnered with Dean a few years ago and manage the podcast side of...

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, and the future of Public Radio. We also get into the three R's which include radio, retail and...

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 Bell for a number of years, and also worked at the NFL is the company's board director. This is a...

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 conversation. Buzz speaks to music legends from different genres, hoping to catch them in their...

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 becoming about of renowned Captivate.FM as a support leader. In this episode, you will hear...

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 across stations in the Stingray radio group. And yes, you can still find her doing mornings at...

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 episode is less Christmassy and more grumpy. What begins as nostalgia for the good old days-...

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 Libsyn the last three years and with Voxnest and Spreaker before that. The Podcasting Hall of Famer...

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 Toronto, 900 CHML Hamilton and 980 CFPL in London. In this episode, Dani and I dive into what we...

If you've listened to sports radio in Alberta anytime in the last three decades, you probably know Bryn Griffiths. He's been positively prolific in covering the NHL and CFL teams in the area since the 90's- which is around when I met him. Bryn joins us from Edmonton this week to talk about his lifelong passion for sports and broadcasting, and fair warning, this episode is a big one. We begin by exploring why he got into radio, and my jealousy over the fact that different time zones allowed...

If you're a Canadian audience member who's tuned in to a CBC News broadcast anytime in the last 20 or so years, this week's guest should look very familiar. We're joined by Wendy Mesley, the longtime Sunday host of CBC's The National, among several other shows in CBC's repertoire. In this episode, you will hear about Wendy's early years as a reporter at CFCF in Montreal, her time in radio in Toronto, and her years at the CBC. Wendy officially retired from the CBC in July 2021, but she...

This is what they call in podcasting... a Feed Drop. An opportunity for you to sample another podcast. We had Paige Neinaber on our show back in June 2021. You can and should listen to that episode here. We are sharing this because we know you may not have budget to access great radio toys - but you should spare a little time for the people who are sharing their wisdom... especially when it's free. You can subscribe or Follow everything Paige here. And connect to the podcast here. A...

NLogic has been a supporter of our podcast since 2017. In that time, we've had NLogic's President and COO David Phillips on the show to discuss the radio industry's relationship with audience data. In the current day and age, we have more audience data than ever before, and often we can't see what is relevant in the moment. I saw David at a panel at Canadian Music Week not too long ago, and had some questions I needed to ask him. That, paired with the fact that he's leaving NLogic in the...