John Mamola is the program director of WDAE, the sports station in Tampa Bay. We had him on the show back in December of 2019 and his life sounded busy. With the arrival of COVID, the sports world got turned upside down. For many stations, the arrival of COVID meant a decrease in workload - but not in Tampa Bay. The city really started to stir with arrival of Tom Brady in March of 2002. From that point on, the dynamic of the sports market began to change. Since then the baseball Rays have gone to the World Series, the NFL Buccaneers won the Super Bowl and the NHL Lightning have won two Stanley Cups in a 9 month period. Crazy. So how does the program director of a radio station with 7 sports properties cope? That's what we found out in this episode. I spoke to John about everything that has gone on since we last spoke in December 2019. A once passive sports market with a lot activity has gone into hyperdrive. Did Someone on the Lightning Order Jeannie's Cake? Sometimes I can't do an episode without some sort of strange Winnipeg thing happening. There is a hot rumour circulating that someone in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization ordered a few Jeannies Cakes to be shipped to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area after the cup win. We scanned the roster and have not located a suspect as of yet. Jeannie's is a bakery in Winnipeg with a very unique cake that divides the locals. You either love it or you hate it. A lot of Jeannie's Cake notoriety comes from those who have left the city and yearn for the unique taste from the cake. My sources from the airport are semi-reliable on this, but we are interested to know who would choose to celebrate a Stanley Cup win with Jeannie's cake? Here's the video of the recording. I never find these to be very exciting. Like who would watch two guys talking sports? Apparently lots.

Paige Nienaber knows radio promotions and marketing. He's been involved with some really big ones - and one that I definitely remember because I saw it play out on CNN. (Wild's infamous Haircut on the Bridge). In this episode, I ask Paige all about what makes a radio promotion successful, and how they changed over the course of the pandemic. In this episode, you'll hear a conversation about radio promotions that I have been planning since I first met Paige in 2016. We discuss the anatomy of a great radio promotion and touch on a few of the famous ones that have taken place over the years, including Mancow Muller's Bay Bridge Haircut, and a lottery contest that didn't pass the legal test. One thing is evident: The same elements that made promotions successful in the 80's, still exist today. Paige also touched on the success of the Secret Sound contest which is on air now at 99.7 Now in San Francisco. If your station would like to bolster its promotions game, Reach out to Paige on this website. or call him at +1 (651) 247 4056. We also made mention of Paige's website Hotel Nightmares. You can see all the horror here. You're invited to join CPR PROMOTIONS' PAIGE NIENABER, who will host a webinar on "Helping Radio Prepare For The 20th Anniversary Of 9/11." The free event happens on THURSDAY, JULY 29th from 1-1:45p (EDT). Paige also has a podcast that you should Follow. Free Promo ideas delivered to your phone! I posted both the Apple and the Spotiify Embeds because I wanted to see how they looked. I would prefer to use neither... I always believe that your podcast host should have the best one. If it doesn't, get another podcast host. Of note - this episode was recorded using Squadcast and this is the first episode with their new Dolby Voice feature. Use the promo code soundoff for up to a free month off of the Indie audio plan ($20 of value) in addition to the free 7-day trial. Paige also appeared at the NextRadio conference in 2016. This is similar to the Conclave experience that we spoke about... without the shock collar.

There are a lot of things that come to mind when you hear the name Stu Schwartz. The Ottawa morning host has been a radio staple in the market since the mid-90's, first making a name for himself as Stuntman Stu, then as a sports fixture on Team 1200 AND in-house announcer at the Ottawa Senators hockey games, and now overall radio powerhouse at Move 100. He's not ready to put himself in the category of the Max Keeping's and Ken "The General" Grant who ruled the broadcast airwaves in Ottawa in the 20th Century, but this century his is one of the first names that comes up when you say "radio" in Ottawa. Throughout the years, Stu has been able to build his following, one community appearance at a time. In 2016, he was diagnosed with cancer and talks about how being public about it has helped him channel strength. This is Stu's second fight with cancer. In 2016, he was diagnosed with leukemia. He has since endured several bone marrow transplants, and has maintained a fantastic, enviable attitude throughout it all. "“When you’re given this diagnosis and given this solution, you don’t argue with it. You say ‘okay, I trust the team of doctors and the transplant team.’ I have to put my faith in the system, in God and just the fact that this will work. You just got to be positive," he told CTV Morning Live ahead of his transplant in May. For you hockey fans, Stu's voice may sound familiar for another reason. Stu worked as the announcer for the Ottawa Senators for over 10 years. Sens fans would recognize his voice, and Stu would rave about the Sens fans. Watch Stu give a tour of Scotiabank Place in 2010 below. Also, another podcast we're proud to work with, Zander's Podcast, had Stu on as a guest. Zander does amazing community work for The CHEO Foundation and The Make-A-Wish Foundation; he is the survivor of multiple open heart surgeries who is now stable and plays multiple sports, and wants to give back to the community that gave so much to him. Here is their chat.

Christian Zyp is a host on Edmonton's CJSR's Moving Radio. But you're not listening to this episode for that. The story of our friendship begins on the radio in 1995 with the release of Van Halen's Balance CD. Back then radio stations were given advance copies and a "World Album Premiere". The special we ran only featured 9/11 songs on the CD. Where we the other two. Two drunk guys started calling me and asking why we had left two of the songs off and I said, "If you have some beer in the fridge I'll bring the CD over and we'll listen to it." What's a few brews between Van Halen fans? From there on, Garth Thatchuk and Christian Zyp became lifelong friends. Zyp started his radio career in 1998 as the host of the venerable Moving Radio on CJSR. But he is better known as a teacher, movie buff, music lover, soccer teammate, and overall great guy. The last time I saw him was in Edmonton in 2015. Life changed for him and his wife Trina 4 months later. You just skip over listening to the podcast and head straight to the blog page to read about Zyp's incredible story of battling back from the brink of death from contracting meningitis. This episode is dedicated to my good friend who reminds me to be thankful everyday and a reminder of the many ways radio creates friendships and bonds across the airwaves and beyond. Zyp and Trina are also responsible for kicking my ass and telling me to get going with a podcast back in November 2015. This episode does not have any discussion of breaks, bits, PPM numbers, digital anything, or workforce reductions. This is is the story community, friendship and gratitude. To keep up on all the latest with Zyp - follow him on is support page on Facebook. If you do get the chance, take the time to call someone you met along your radio journey, and see how they are doing. They would love to hear from you. Zyp appeared on Real Talk With Ryan Jespersen.

Valerie Geller has inspired many to be better broadcasters through her work. Many of those lessons can be found in her 2011 book, Beyond Powerful Radio, the follow up to the 1996 work, Creating Powerful Radio. I would consider this podcast to be incomplete without an episode from Valerie. She is one of the most referenced persons in this series; not only from broadcasters, but now podcasters. In this episode, we discuss how her work has become more than about radio, and extends to anyone who is in a performance based industry. I asked her about one of the biggest mistakes podcasters make, how to make them better and what all personalities need to do to be successful long term. I also took a moment to ask about the changes in her life. Valerie is on the road for long periods of time, and that has obviously come to a temporary halt over the last year. We also spoke about the idea of "Never Lose A Listener" which, when you think about it, is a vital concept to podcasters who need to hold listeners from minute zero. You can purchase her acclaimed books on radio here: Beyond Powerful Radio: A Communicator's Guide to the Internet Age The Powerful Radio Workbook Creating Powerful Radio: Getting, Keeping, & Growing Audiences Watch Valerie's talk on Next Radio on how to me a more powerful communicator. There's great stuff in here, and everyone can take something away from it, whether you're in radio or not. Matt adds: I remember hearing from Marty Forbes about Hivio in 2016 and thought: "I am totally going to that next year." This was something Mark Ramsey put together and I thought he would do it forever but alas no - Mark dove into podcasting and created Inside Psycho, Inside Star Wars and many others. All that said, I really loved Valerie's appearance at Hivio in 2016 and thank you Mark for streaming this to our homes all those years ago:

Sometime back in 2008, Vinny Barrucco made the call to (then) Mix 96 to see if his skills acquired at community juggernaut K103 Kahnawake would translate into the Montreal mainstream. We know today that that answer is yes. The Montreal morning host has done most of the day parts on Montreal radio at the two of the biggest English FM's in the city, Virgin Radio and 92.5 The Beat. Today, he is a host on the former along with Shannon King and Adam Greenberg. In this episode, you will hear how Vinny nearly left Montreal on a few occasions, only to have circumstance keep home in his hometown. We also took the time to share our passion and love for Montreal and everything it has offer. Apologies if it gets a little inside with words such as "Dep", "Habs", "Bill 101", "Anglo", "Franco" and an in-depth discussion about how the Quebec star-system towers over Canada's. No apologies offered for the three or four times we randomly started talking about the Montreal Canadiens. (Bruins and Leafs fans might want to skip over this episode and listen in July) I had the chance to meet Vinny in 2019 where we chatted about the world of podcast and I really love how he started one with his wife Tina called, "Marriage in the Fast Lane", documenting their transition from single, to newlyweds, to parents. Vinny made reference to his podcast he shares with his wife, Tina. He talked about recording that first episode and holding it until he felt confident enough to release it into the world. Here is that first episode and by all means, subscribe to the show. We mentioned that show producer Adam Greenberg does some pretty awesome social media contact. Here is an example featuring Montreal's gift to the world: The Orange Highway Cone. Montreal is notorious for its annual construction festival which invades every neighbourhood. There have been times when I tried to use Google maps to get somewhere and the app crashed because of all the road closures.

Genevieve Borne is really talented. I met her in 1992 after a concert and was enamoured with her immediately. She is a bridge to the province I love, and a broadcaster I respect and emulate where applicable. In short, I love this woman's tenacity and ability to say, "I'm going for it." In this episode you'll hear why Quebec is special, has the star system Canada has failed to replicate, and how her skills as a photographer, host, storyteller, radio host, model, personality and TV star has made her one of Quebec's most famous stars. She also opened up about her battle with Cancer a decade ago and reflects on how she handled it. I mentioned during the show that she is a very good Instagram Follow. And link to her Facebook page. Genevieve has a national radio show called A Travers Les Branches which connects the family tree of musicians every week. A radio concept that was always difficult to replicate in English commercial radio where its more about the playing the music than providing enlightening content. Also, Genevieve and I talked about her love for London which she expressed in a wonderful publication you can find out more about called "300 Reasons To Love London". On April 5, 1994 Mike Gauthier and Genevieve Borne go to air with the Breaking News of Kurt Cobain's death. Bonus! Genevieve provided us some excellent restaurant recommendations if you are in the Montreal area. Here are three I will trying out on my next trip through Montreal. LOV: A number of locations throughout Montreal. DAMAS: Wonderful Syrian Cuisine Mikado: This was the place where Genevieve took me for sushi way back when. Still a high recommend after all these years. Recommend for anyone in Toronto from Matt: I took a look at the menu at LOV and it reminded me of great Toronto (Vegan) restaurant I enjoyed thoroughly called Planta.

Last Tuesday night I couldn't get to sleep. Not by 1am or 2am or 3am. By 4am I had to ask what's wrong? After a period of reconnecting with meditation, it was the impending ratings book that was coming out on Thursday. So even as a radio consultant, I find myself worrying about a client's success more than a doctor would consider healthy. Specifically, the worry was about a station I had helped launch over a year ago. We had changed the format from Hot AC to Classic Hits. Since the launch in February 2015, I have spent my days creating over hundreds of pages and sounds into helping build a unique radio station. Would it pay off? Initially, yes. Subsequently the result was mixed. Seeing a result like #1 Females 25-54 means it's a good day. In the moments after there's the proverbial exhale, and the departure of anxiety from mind. The next few days consisted of combing over day parts and connecting the dots between the success and the "areas of concern". (as one of my former program directors once eloquently put it) But sometimes it doesn't go well and thankfully, Fred Jacobs from Jacobs Media had a well-timed blog piece for program directors about dealing with the rough patches of being a program director. Another great read, is Perry Michael Simon's personal account about life after being a Program Director. The biggest takeaway from both pieces is to remind yourself, that you are not your ratings. Remember that as the process repeats itself for many next week with the release of the PPM Ratings in Canada. Now that the post ratings reports have been filed, there's time to catch up on another client's social media pages and analytics, and record audio and voice overs in my studio. (If you missed that blog it is here). With the self-inflicted stress in the rear view mirror, creativity floods the mind and I am currently creating two new radio brands that will be launched within the year. There are 185 days until the Fall book is out. Let's get to work. (If you would like to discuss your station's performance, please call Matt at 204-414-5541. All calls are confidential, non-judgemental, and honest) #numeris #ratings #consulting

Matt goes solo this week with some ideas for the Great Radio Reset. With the pandemic coming to an end and radio stations looking to the future, we've assembled a list of things to think about. Some are some old ideas that should come to fruition, while others where born in the pandemic. As always your feedback is welcome. Depending on where you live in North America, your local government has probably announced some re-opening plans. Actually, it’s pretty much everywhere except where I live because people here aren’t smart enough to play hide-and-seek from a virus and local government has far too much faith in people to exercise personal responsibility. The rest of this is for another podcast…. I think back to March of 2020 in a podcast episode I called, Hey Radio, this is it…. This was the big emergency you have been waiting for that was going to make you relevant once again. What radio was not counting on was the reduced morning drive numbers… and who knew that we would all be working from home? But we learned to… and when I had Tony Coles on the show, he talked about how his team launched Black Information Network in multiple cities – with talent working from home. And yes, a lot of what I am talking about today has come from previous episodes that are available if you just scroll backwards on your phone. A few weeks ago I had Fred Jacobs from Jacobs media talk about listening during the pandemic, and I’m sure you have noticed this at your station too – some people listened less or stopped, but there was a contingent who listened more and longer. They listened for companionship and information and likely your station was there to help your community through these difficult times. Here is what I am proposing to everyone in radio right now. It is time for the great Radio Reset. Right now, blow up everything you do, take everything learned over the last year and apply it to something great. You can even borrow a few of the ideas from our guests if you wish. Here are some things that I think you should consider for the great radio reset. Personality. Lotsa Personality: This one is an easy one and comes straight from the Tech Survey. 2020 is the year where listeners began to gravitate to radio for personality more than music. So it is time to invest in a strategy for personalities on your station – what will they bring to the table each morning and what training and resources will you be offering them. Can you please STOP trying to own every social platform? Instead, nail a few and get some participation trophies for the rest – or even better, don’t even bother. I know that a lot of companies have desired metrics that personalities have to hit each month, but you don’t win at social media with singles and doubles – you win with Home Runs… so it’s okay to strike out online. Radio needs a new metrics system. And while it would be great to have an app on phones so data can be collected, the microphones on these devices aren’t meant to pick up passive listening, so already we will have skewed metrics. Radio needs to figure out a way to do some data collection that puts it on a level footing with digital, that does not fall prey to all the fraud that’s out there. I know what your saying – I just came across like the 7th grade gym teacher who told you to line up alphabetically by height. By the way, has anyone considered selling the station based on the value of what people are hearing? Just a thought. I’ve already ranted about this extensively in a previous episode. Speaking of what people are hearing – did you check out Matty in the morning at Y108 in Boston last week? He’s trying to do a show but can’t because everyone is so enamoured with fake outrage. I know we like to think of ourselves as broadcasters but maybe your station doesn’t fit that anymore. Maybe your time would be better spent focusing on a niche instead… say like people who enjoyed cutting edge comedy and humour? You could have personalities that could provide that. You know, it’s okay not to be for everyone. You don’t have to cow-tow to every woke tweet or every call for equal time for both sides of an issue. You could just… do a show. If you can turn the comments off on Facebook, you should be able to do so for your station. By the way, I was thinking about playing that clip in this show, but I’ve decided you can go check it out on the episode page instead. By the way, Media is having some trust issues, but radio still carries its credibility. I know there are some loons out there who will use some quack Youtube page to verify their alleged truth. No matter what station you work at, maybe you should have an ombudsman on retainer to deal with truth issues externally. Radio has the trust of the people – can we protect it? Stop focusing on local, and concentrate on being relevant: This was an idea put into my mind from Pat Holiday in 2015, and I think we should really stop with the local nonsense. Instead of saying, you’re going to be local, why not try being relevant instead? Every time a PD asks a performer to be local, you get a mention about something going on somewhere that no one cares about, and the personality does this because they were told to be local. But what if you asked the personality to be relevant instead? What kind of show do you get? And by the way, do you who cares about you being local? Ed in sales and the person Ed is selling to. That’s it. The rest of us want to hear something relevant. Here’s a fun idea: consider becoming a guest on as many podcasts as you can. That fit of course. So one of the first persons I met on my podcast adventures back in 2016 was Jessica Rhodes who is the owner of interview connections. It was a six figure business in year two and it is taking in a few million a year now. I thought to myself – who needs help finding guests for a podcast? Also – why can’t people who want to be on podcasts find guests. Well it’s a thing and There is an entire industry dedicated to guesting on podcasts. Now you don’t need to register for Jessica’s services, you just need to pitch yourself to be on them. You’re already in the audience industry – it is a great way to forward your brand. By the way, I want to have Jessica back on the show in the coming months… she’s awesome. I have a few more to go – I just need to put a little money in my pocket but here’s another idea… how about sponsoring a podcast? If you don’t work for Rogers, Corus, Audecy Stingray or iHeart, you might not have access to podcast company sponsorships… so getting on board a local popdcast in your market might be a good way to connect. More ideas ahead…. Also, another one for personalities and programmers a like… maybe the personalities on your station should not be employees. I’ve had Sheri Lynch on Twice and she has provided the blue print for personalities breaking out on their own and turning the radio shows and brands into a business. Be ready for the good times. Summer is coming, concerts are coming back, and it’s very possible we experience a social boom. One that is not online but in-person. There’s going to be concert tickets to give away and radio is still the best way to connect everyone to experiences. Even the idea of giving away passport photos so people who let their passports lapse would get people excited. Finally, I cannot take credit for this, but Seth Resler, who is the digital dot connector, got me thinking about re-opening this week with the Hashtag Scavenger hunt. I’ve posted a link to it in the show notes of the episode. And it’s just the kind of thing radio needs to be thinking about right now. I’ve also added in a few other notable watches that will help you re-boot the way you think about radio and how you are going to do things better than you did in the Before times. You know, radio really wasn’t that good in the before times… but it has yet another chance to be great. And that’s it – 10 ideas for the great radio reset – I hope that this becomes a big panel discussion in the future. I know when I started this podcast, radio couldn’t even discuss what they done that was innovative in the last 6 months – but we have a long list now. Thanks for listening and support the share by sharing everything on social media, and sending me money. Here are the links that I promised to list in the episode: Pat Holiday's 2015 blog on live and local being overrated. Seth Resler's Hash Tag Scavenger Hunt. As promised, a clip from Matty in the Morning at Kiss 108 Boston quitting on air. He has since returned.

Jim Harold began podcasting on the paranormal in 2005 and is among a handful of pioneers of podcasting. His programs have stood the test of time and The Paranormal Podcast and Campfire remain among the most popular in the genre. He also developed a premium tier and much to his surprise... worked! He started out in radio sales after originally considering television. When he was let go from CBS, he pushed all-in on Podcasting and he is now the host of a number of podcasts beyond the two aforementioned ones. As a result, he has also become a published author with his Campfire series. The first book was originally published by traditional publisher New Page Books, and since then Jim has taken the books independent. All five books are available in eBook and paperback at JimHaroldBooks.com and via Amazon.com. Jim lives in Ohio with his fantastic wife and two daughters and I had the pleasure of meeting him at Podcast Movement last August. We did the show using Squadcast instead of Skype. If you liked the sound quality, let me know. I might actually open my pockets and spring for it. A Big Congrats to Jim on hitting episode 500 of Jim Harold's Campfire Stories.