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I'm leaving Winnipeg. So it seems only fitting that I interview the man responsible for bringing me here 19 years ago. Garth Buchko was the General Manager at CJOB/Power 97 when we met in July 2006. "Butch" shares his journey from a young radio enthusiast to becoming a successful general manager at Corus Entertainment He discusses the competitive Winnipeg radio market, highlighting the importance of relationships, hard work, and innovative sales strategies. The conversation covers Garth's experiences with notable personalities like Ralph Warrington who programmed CJOB for many years, and Howard Stern during his stint at Q107 Toronto. After leaving Winnipeg, Buchko took on roles with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and later became a part-owner and general manager of NL Radio in Kamloops. The interview concludes with Buchko reflecting on his career, the changes in the radio industry, and his retirement in Victoria, emphasizing the joy and camaraderie that made radio special during his time in the business.

Alan Zweig's new podcast is called "Tubby". It's a unique show that explores conversations about weight, body image, and self-esteem, and not a typical self-help podcast. Together with Alan Black, (Left Of Dial Media) the show approaches the topic with authenticity and humour, focusing on storytelling rather than providing solutions. They've intentionally kept the podcast audio-first, while still considering video; for marketing purposes naturally. Their goal is to create something that feels like a documentary, with raw, unpolished conversations that make people feel less alone. We discussed the challenges of podcasting, the importance of originality, and how they want to create a show that resonates with dedicated listeners. They're committed to maintaining the podcast's unique voice and avoiding the generic, overly produced feel of many current podcasts. This is why they are on the show this week. It's something I feel a lot of people are forgetting when making a podcast. We spent a little time discussing the Trailer. We love podcast trailers and think everyone should have one. One way to elevate your trailer is to add some animation and all this to say... this helped hook me in. The Sound Off Media Company works closely with Broadcast Dialogue and their podcast. Alan Black has been a guest twice on their show; once as COO of Canadaland and more recently after launching his company, Left Of Dial Media. Check out Alan's interview with Connie Thiessan.

Anna Zee has been with Q104 in Halifax for nearly 38 years. Her first radio foray was in 1981 at Queens University's. She transitioned through various stations including Rock 103 (Now C-103) in Moncton before landing at the legendary Q104 in Halifax, where she became a daytime fixture. Throughout her career, she's witnessed significant changes in radio, from physical record deliveries to digital platforms and social media integration. While the technology has changed, her passion for music has not. Q104 has been more than a job for Anna - it's been a family. She's experienced the station's evolution, including some subtle and slight shifts in musical format as the station's audience evolved and grew over the years. Despite opportunities elsewhere, she remained committed to Halifax, loving the city's vibrant music scene and tight-knit radio community. The Electric Lunch, continues to be a staple. Today, it's 90's music take center stage on the show. Towards the end of the interview I asked Anna Zee about the unique routing of concert tours to Halifax. It's way better today. Many will recall 1986 and Q104's Rush to Halifax Promotion. I found an old video of a young Jerry Neville whom I worked with in 1989 in Nova Scotia... he is hosting what appears to be a Rush to Halifax rally. I actually heard from Jerry a few weeks ago when I watched the U18 baseball championships live on YouTube and he was the house announcer at the game in Fort McMurray, Alberta. These days, Jerry owns a production company there.

Paul Jacobs has the same advice he had in 2019 when he came on this show and said, " Stop Selling Radio . " In 2025, it's stop selling radio and start selling solutions. With revenue trending flat to down, the radio must innovate or risk falling further behind digital platforms that promise instant results and granular analytics. Paul and I explored how radio’s real strength lies in local content, strong communities, and brand reach. We talked about public radio navigating loss of traditional funding, and the need for new digital strategies. Paul urged programmers and managers to see mobile apps and newsletters as opportunities for deeper connection—not just boxes to tick. Despite industry challenges, both Paul and I are optimistic. If broadcasters double down on what makes radio great—engaging personalities, community focus, and the free, local experience—there’s a bright future ahead. The video from our chat. We think the listening experience is better - but if you love the YouTube experience, feel free to leave some comments. Sign Up for the Jacobs Media Blog Newsletter As always, a great way to start your day is with an email from Fred Jacobs who offers insights into the latest trends in broadcasting and digital media. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Professor Michael Geist is someone I think about often. It could be from the writings on his blog or his words from his podcast, Law Bytes . With the CRTC spending its valuable time these days discussing with Canadian Radio, what qualifies and should qualify as Canadian Content, I thought now would be a good time to have him on the show to discuss some of the inner workings of their policy making. We explored the evolving landscape of Canadian media regulation and the challenges facing policymakers in the digital age. He highlighted how, for over two decades, both Conservative and more often Liberal governments have struggled to keep pace with the rapid changes brought by the internet, often lagging behind technology and failing to anticipate the real-world impact of new laws. We discussed the influence of lobby groups on legislation like Bill C-11 and C-18, which have shaped the way news and streaming content are regulated in Canada. Professor Geist pointed out that these laws often overlook the needs of end users and the realities of modern content distribution, leading to unintended consequences—such as the inability to share news on social platforms. The conversation also touched on the CRTC’s lack of direct radio experience and its tendency to prioritize traditional stakeholders over public interest. As AI becomes more prevalent in media, Geist suggested greater transparency would be an excellent start. Looking ahead, Geist emphasized the importance of keeping public interest at the heart of policy decisions, especially as new privacy and AI regulations are debated in Canada. You can see the full video of Michael Geist's appearance at the CRTC Hearing in 2023 here. Here is the raw recording of our conversation. Matt Cundill spoke to Michael Geist about some of the processes that go on at the CRTC.

Damian Rickards is a second generation radio broadcaster who has spent over 25 years navigating his way across the country through broadcasting. From his early days at Mix 99 to pioneering urban radio at Flow 93.5 in Toronto and Vibe 98.5 in Calgary, Rickards shares insider stories of radio's evolution. He discusses his journey through multiple markets, including Toronto, Calgary, and Ottawa, while highlighting the challenges of syndication and maintaining local relevance. Mr. D Radio also brings us into his current role at 91.5 The Beat, his innovative Tik/Tok and Instagram nostalgia quizzes, and his creative work on the podcast "New Sketches for Radio." With candid insights into radio programming, music trends, and the changing media landscape, this episode offers a fascinating glimpse into the life of a passionate broadcaster who has consistently been at the forefront of Canadian radio innovation. I spoke to Damian about his retro quizzes on social media. I never get these. I had my head buried in rock music charts since 1995. Here is the video from the recording.

Pat Moran is the host of Talking Buffalo , In this episode we emphasized the importance of credibility and trust in reporting. Moran highlights mistakes in sports media, such as a false report about Max Hairston's injury and a red helmet story, stressing the need for accuracy over speed. He also discusses the competitive landscape of sports media, the impact of national versus local coverage, and the benefits of networking and partnerships, including his experience with Blue Wire Network. Moran concludes with his optimistic outlook for the Buffalo Bills' 2025 season. Subscribe to Pat's Substack Talkin' Buffalo. Subscribe to Pat's YouTube Channel. Here are some of the posts and "Breaking News" that a few independent outlets ran with... quoting, "Sources". A pretty serious tweet claiming Max Hairston had an ACL injury. He did not have one. Trainwreck Sports initially reported that the Buffalo Bills were not bringing back their red helmets for the 2025 season, a report they later retracted, apologizing and celebrating the official announcement that the fan-favorite red helmets were indeed returning. Pre-season coverage is weird. By the way - the "over-the-air" traditional broadcasters got one badly wrong during a pre-season game between the Broncos and the Cardinals. All you need to know is Micah Parsons never said that and the person who tweeted it couldn't believe they fell for it either. Once again - this is what I think about video. It's here for search. I don't really want you watching it. I'd rather you listen to the show, save 7 minutes and do something smart with your eyes while your ears listen to the show.

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 bundle isn't trying to be. Todd explains that the AI tools are simply designed to streamline the podcast production workflow, giving users a jumping-off point to help create show notes, descriptions, and other metadata quickly. We do, however, touch on the valid concern that people may attempt to create fully AI-generated podcasts using voice data, or replace sections of their podcasts with AI voiceover and pretend they didn't. The Thrive bundle doesn't provide these tools to begin with, but Todd also emphasizes the importance of full disclosure to the audience whenever AI tools are integrated in any form, a sentiment we at The Sound Off Media Company fully agree with. We also discuss Blubrry's competition in the AI field, and what makes the Thrive bundle stand apart in a sea of rushed-to-market AI tools, from its price to its comprehensive toolkit. If you, like me, are growing tired of paying for 6 different AI assistants and using maybe 20% of each one, the Thrive bundle may be the option for you. We take a slightly different direction in the latter half of the episode, moving to the topic of podcast discovery. Google's AI integration for its search engine is already making it trickier to find correct information quickly (see the "put glue on your pizza" incident ), and Todd believes having a rich suite of metadata and SEO skills will continue to grow ever more important as time goes on. A Transcript and video version of the episode is available on the network page.

Todd Cochrane can speak to it because he was there in the early days. In 2004, he jumped into podcasting; long before Apple became involved. As time went on he began to find ways to make money at it, including an early sponsorship deal with GoDaddy, and creating the podcast hosting company that we know as Blubrry. We try to address two very large questions in this episode: Where is podcasting headed, and what will radio's role in it be? We tackle a number of the podcast news stories, asking if the RSS Feed is in jeopardy, what radio can do to best invest in podcast, and is iHeart really number one in podcasting? (Depends how you want to count) We also ask to explain the importance of IAB Certification and if Soundcloud is a legitimate podcast host. (Again, it depends how you want to count) Todd is the host of the New Media Show with Rob Greenlee (who appeared on our podcast back in August of 2017) , it airs live roughly every Saturday at Noon Eastern - but feel free to catch the podcast version or the video version on your own time. If you are looking for a podcast host with IAB certified metrics and web integration (and Todd explains why that's important in this episode) contact him here . Check out the latest episodes of the New Media Show here.

Greg Wasserman from RSS.com is on the show to talk podcasting. Having made his way through the media ad buying world, Greg spent some time selling for the CBS radio cluster in LA before hooking in to podcasting. We share some similar views when it comes to the importance of show packaging, including artwork and descriptions, to attract and retain listeners. We also talked about the shift from downloads to audience engagement across multiple platforms like YouTube. Then we talked about the new toys in the toy box at RSS.com . Like their new programmatic ad feature, which allows podcasters to monetize with as few as 10 downloads per month. Additionally, he mentions the potential of video podcasting through HLS and the significance of local and location tags for building hyper-local communities. Now before you bail on the show and think things like HLS is geeky and silly, ask yourself. Do you want to let YouTube house all your video or do you want some degree of control over it? Greg also shares his LinkedIn initiatives, Podcast Monday and Give Back Tuesday, aimed at discovering and supporting podcasts and job seekers. You can also watch the show here.