Donna Reed, a former radio host, podcast creator, and voiceover talent discusses her dcareer in radio, including her times at WQDR and WRDU in Raleigh, NC; then to KLOL and KODA in Houston, Texas and WCXR in Washington, DC. where she enjoyed the freedom of night shifts. She transitioned to voice acting after a car commercial opportunity and has since worked on audiobooks, commercials, and transit announcements. Reed also curated the "Leopard Print Lounge Chair" channel for AccuRadio during COVID-19, blending eclectic music for a relaxed atmosphere. She reflects on the challenges and ..read more

Tony Garcia's journey through the radio industry over the past four decades provides a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of syndicated content and the changing landscape of the medium. From his early days as an intern at the iconic WNBC in New York during the 1980s, Tony's enthusiasm for radio was palpable, as he recounted the excitement of being part of the station's shift from album rock to the burgeoning new wave scene. This passion led Tony to create his own syndicated show, "Wave Breaker," while at WNYU. Through sheer determination and a willingness to learn on the job, he navigated ..read more

You likely know Steve Pratt's name from his days as founder of Pacific Content. The company that created stories about brands set the bar for branded podcasts in the late 2010's. The company was later sold to Rogers in 2019 and just recently sold to Lower Street in the UK. Unlike our interview with (former Pacific Content Director of Audience developement) Dan Misener, we are going to ask Steve about his thoughts when it was announced Rogers would be mothballing the company he started. In this episode, we discussed Steve's career evolution from television to podcasting. He highlighted his work ..read more

After 7 and a half years, the longest gap between appearances in Sound Off Podcast history, Leslie Scott finally returns. And to say things have changed is a massive understatement. Back in 2016, Leslie was the PD for 107.7 The End in Seattle, driving the station to huge success in the millennial market. Since then, she's taken on a few more stations, been elevated to overseeing programming of Audacy's exclusive streaming-only channels... And like so many people in radio, been restructured out of a job. Their loss. We discuss where Leslie's currently at both life and career wise, but mainly th ..read more

Jordan Heath Rawlings, host of the Big Story Podcast, returns to discuss the evolution of daily news podcasts over the past five years. We first had Jordan on the show in 2019 after year one on the show. Since then, he noted the increased competition and the shift to virtual interviews post-pandemic. There's simply more choice with outlets having rushed into the space after the success of the The Daily and The Big Story. The Big Story has evolved into video, releasing episodes on two YouTube channels, reaching 100,000 views, despite minimal video content. Some of the original challenges of bal ..read more

Over a year after Matt recorded a Summer of Discontent - he looks back on a second summer of discontent which feature more radio stations closures on AM, small FM size stations and one FM station in Canada's #4 market. Also layoffs in Kingston and London, and across iHeart in the USA. Matt also wonders why no one in radio seems to talk much about the audience... Matt reaffirms that the Sound Off Podcast is about audience building and teases a few episodes in the works with Steve Pratt, Valerie Geller, and others. Sign up for Matt's Newsletter called Sounding Off Books mentioned: Tom Webster's ..read more

Jeff Umbro, is the founder of The Podglomerate, an award-winning podcast services firm specialized in production, marketing, and monetization of outstanding content. In this episode, we discussed his transition from book publicist to podcasting, highlighting the company's evolution since 2017. He emphasized the importance of podcast promotion, noting that cross-promos are effective but should not be the sole strategy. Jeff also shared his insights on video's role in podcasting, noting its potential for discovery and engagement. He also addressed the complexities of monetizing podcasts, includi ..read more

Sharon Taylor, Senior Vice President of Podcast Strategy and Product Operations at Triton, discusses her career journey from hospitality management to podcasting. She joined Omny Studio in 2016, initially on a contract basis, and later becoming CEO. Sharon highlights the evolution of Omny Studio from a radio tool to a comprehensive podcast platform, and its acquisition by Triton. She emphasizes the importance of brand safety and suitability in podcast advertising, and introduces Sounder, a tool developed by Triton to enhance contextual analysis and ad targeting. Sharon also touches on the chal ..read more

Blubrry's CEO Todd Cochrane is back once again this week, and this time he's got a new toy he's eager to share: The Thrive bundle, Blubrry's first major foray into AI integration for podcasters. We begin by going over what exactly the Thrive bundle offers its users, including various AI-powered tools to help podcasters with tasks like episode planning, production, social media clips, and email. For those who fear AI will run the world someday, worry not. Anyone who's used the current suite of online AI tools certainly knows they're not a replacement for human input by any means, and the Thrive ..read more

You likely know Dan Misener for his work in Podcasting - but I managed to trace his roots back to radio. Specifically, to CBC and shows like DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera) and Spark with Nora Young. His radio days actually stretch back a little further than that to campus radio at Dalhousie's CKDU in Halifax. But it was his time at Pacific Content where Dan began to explore audience development in the podcast space. Yes, he could have continued on making great sounding shows at places like the CBC, but what's the point if you aren't getting everyone to listen, right? In this episode we will d ..read more