The Sound Off Podcast

It takes a whole conversation with J.C. Douglas to realize that the journey lies somewhere between the Grateful Dead's "Truckin'" (What a Long Strange Trip it's been...) and Motley Crue's Wild Side. From the early days at Q104, to nearly 30 years at the station - and now at long-time rival C100. His durability on air is a result of hard work, learning and knowing the brand of your station. I know that sounds hoaky but if you're gonna rock, you had better rock; if you want to attract females on a heritage morning show, you need to make a few subtle changes. I have always loved Halifax and full disclousre, I worked in Nova Scotia for 4 years and spent many afternoons listening to JC Douglas and Andrew Gillis on the Mighty Q. Recently I took a trip back and heard JC Douglas on C100 - and thought there is no better person to tell Haligonian Radio Tales than JC. (I think I should trademark that) This episode is brought to you by Promosuite and the new cloud based software Promosuite Next. http://www.promosuite.com/soundoffSee Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Ronnie Stanton emigrated from Australia to Canada in 2008 after a successful stint as a morning show host and programmer on the Sunshine Coast. His 5 years at Astral Media's 95 Crave then Virgin Radio, morphed into a difficult decision to cross the street to Corus Radio's CFOX and Rock 101. His latest career move has him heading south to Alpha Media where he is VP/Programming and residing in San Jose. We spend our time discussing the rise of the classic hits format, and discussing life under the divisive Trump presidency. This week's episode is brought to you by NLogic - get your free trial of LENS here - http://bit.ly/2oLHQmQSee Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Chuck McCoy has been in radio for 52 years. But he won't tell you he has worked in radio - but in audio. He is forward thinking enough to recognize that he has been an audio business all along. You might think that when we bring someone onto this podcast who has had a long and storied career, that we would talk about the past. Instead he wanted to talk about the NOW and the future. Chuck also provides a great advice on how to stay sharp. Chuck's brother Jeff Vidler appeared in Episode 33 of this podcast series. They will both be at Canadian Music Week in April to honour their brother Gary Russell who will be receiving a lifetime achievement award posthumously. This week's episode is brought to you by Promosuite. http://www.promosuite.com/soundoff Also take our audience survey here - http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=c-pwg3hNJ1tz&amp;ver=standard See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Eric Samuels hired me to do evenings at 100.3 the Bear in Edmonton in 1994. Although Eric would move on to Vancouver a few years later, the two years I worked under him set the tone for how I would broadcast and program radio for years to follow. The best way I could describe his approach is that it is okay to broadcast outside the lines of the unwritten rules of radio. (And by that, I don't mean vulgarity or profanity - those are the written rules of radio)  A few months ago, Eric reached out to me and asked about doing a series about life after radio. That theme comes up often on this podcast with Todd Hancock, John "Milkman" Milke, Humble &amp; Fred and others. (All of who are actually doing radio; just not for radio stations) The Sound Off Podcast is an audio record of radio stories told by the people who were there. In last week's episode, TJ Connors spoke of his dad Scruff and his return to 97.7 HTZ-FM in Saint Catherines; those two elements return again and serve as a continuation of sorts. Eric was program director from the station's inception through to 1992, then he and Scruff and a cast of characters went to Edmonton and started 100.3 The Bear.  In the years that ensued, we spoke about being at the forefront of ratings success at Z95 in Vancouver and becoming the head of programming for Standard Radio nationally - and knowing when it was time to step away.  This week's episode is brought to you by NLogic - get your free trial of LENS here - http://go.nlogic.ca/l/130651/2017-02-02/khtd2 Also take our audience survey here - http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=c-pwg3hNJ1tz&amp;ver=standard People mentioned on the podcast and the Episodes they appeared in: Jeff Woods - 2 Marty Forbes - 16 Terry Evans - 22 J.J. Johnston - 39 TJ Connors / Scruff Connors - 40 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

TJ Connors has come full circle. The station he grew up around is now his afternoon home. His father, the legendary Scruff Connors, was the morning man at 97.7 HTZ-FM in St. Catherines during the height of rock radio's mass appeal phase in the early 90's. A quarter century later, the Connors name is back on HTZ-FM. I hired TJ to do mornings at Power in 2012, and had a chance to work with him as a consultant to his Country 103 station in Kamloops, where he was morning man and program director. We spoke about the advantages and disadvantages of following his dad on a station he helped make famous, and what makes HTZ-FM so legendary in the Niagara region. SPONSORED BY PROMOSUITE: http://www.promosuite.com/soundoff Also on the show, Edison research released their annual "Infinite Dial" update. Jason Barrett of Barrett Sports Media was kind enough to lend me 9 minutes of his take on the podcast portion of the report. All of which I agree with. (You know those boring infomercials and bad radio shows used to fill weekend slots on sports radio and news/talk? See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

The Allan Waters Young Broadcaster Award, (a tribute to Steve Young) will be announced this week. It goes to a Canadian broadcaster under the age of 30 for their creative contributions on radio and in the community. Past winners include Fearless Fred, Amanda Logan, Rena Jae, Adam Wylde and others. It made me wonder how much younger broadcasters know about Steve and his contributions to radio in North America. So I called up JJ Johnston, someone who knew him very well, and had him paint a picture of the kind of radio Steve created, the impact on the people he mentored, and the kind of person he was. As JJ put it on this podcast, Steve was simply the best radio programmer to ever come out of Canada. He mentored many, including many on air performers as well as future programmers. JJ also put me in touch with Vanessa Thomas from Boom 97.3 and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame who worked under Steve's tutelage. This week's episode is brought to you by NLogic - get your free trial of LENS here - http://go.nlogic.ca/l/130651/2017-02-02/khtd2 See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Larry Gifford has worked at great radio stations across the U.S.A. like KIRO in Seattle and Sports radio 710 ESPN in LA. After a stint in consulting, he found his way north to CKNW in Vancouver where he watched the American Election of a lifetime unfold from the other side of the border. Larry also has a podcast called “Radio Stuff” which is now out of hibernation and sponsored by the same people who support this podcast - http://www.promosuite.com/soundoff - I also asked him about his home state of Ohio - and why is serves as the American political barometer; and we shared our podcast knowledge with one another. This episode is brought to you by Logic and the new cloud based software Lens. http://go.nlogic.ca/l/130651/2017-02-02/khtd2 Finally - take our survey for the podcast here. http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=c-pwg3hNJ1tz&amp;ver=standard See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lori Lewis is the Chairperson for the 42nd edition of the Conclave which will be taking place July 26-28 in Minneapolis. She is also the VP of Social at Cumulus; which means this call was a great opportunity to ask her some of the social media and radio questions that I get asked a lot. If you want to check out the line up at the Conclave, go to http://www.theconclave.com - tickets are on sale for a very limited time for $249. Our show sponsor Promosuite is also going to be at the Conclave! http://www.promosuite.com See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Erica Farber is the CEO of the Radio Advertising Bureau. And as the picture says - she loves radio! If you ever get the feeling that no one has your back in radio, stop by the website and you will remember the great things radio has going for it. There are tools, tips and tricks for non-members, but as we discussed - membership does have its privileges. She has a storied career that spans great decades at stations with legendary call letters. (Think KRTH, KABC and KIIS in Los Angeles) Many who enjoyed their radio years where an R&amp;R magazine circulated the building, will remember her columns and contributions, including the infamous "back page". Titles like Publisher, COO and CEO came quickly after. Also this week, we flash back to the launch of WKTU in New York. We would like to thank this week's sponsors: Promosuite - http://www.promosuite.com/soundoff NLogic - NLogic - http://bit.ly/2yn3uCo  See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Jason Barrett is the owner of Barrett Sports Media, a New York based sports programming and marketing company designed to help sports radio and television companies, professional sports teams, and sports agencies, enjoy long-term success in the audio, digital and social media space. Okay - I took that part from his website, but if any part of your radio day involves sports or digital - you need to watch the digital trends in sports to understand how it's all going to be consumed in the future. I had Jason on before the NFL season got underway and I thought it would be fitting to bring him back again to discuss the myths about ratings, what happens when your team leaves town, and where the sports broadcast talent of tomorrow is going to come from. This episode is brought to you by Promosuite - please support the podcast by checking them out at http://www.promosuite.com/soundoff See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Hal Anderson has been a fixture on the radio in Winnipeg since the late 80's. On our 34th episode, we thought it would appropriate to have the 34th Greatest Canadian on the podcast; which also coincided with his return to 680 CJOB, after being let go in a move that ratings wise, appears regrettable. I took the podcast on the road this week to catch up with Hal and talk about the 1999 "Naked Girl on the Bike" incident, how he became the 34th Greatest Canadian, and his co-hosts over the years.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Jeff Vidler has been involved in research for a long time. After the podcast had been recorded, I remembered a time when, as program director of CJFM in Montreal, he would use his research to entice clients as much as listeners. As the years went on, I worked with Jeff on music testing, perceptuals, and format finders. All my experiences have been positive as research generally shone a light, showed direction, and moved our stations to where they needed to go. As the industry has changed, Jeff's research now includes the more complex listening habits and rituals that exist across all platforms. We also had Peter Anthony Holder come on the show to tell us about his show, the Stuph File. If you would like to have this show on your radio station, please email him peter@thestuphfile.com The podcast is brought to you by NLogic and the new cloud based platform Lens. http://bit.ly/nlogicso Please take the Podtrac survey - It helps us do a better job. http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=c-pwg3hNJ1tz&amp;ver=standard See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Canadian Music Week is taking place in at the Sheraton Centre Downtown in Toronto April 18 to 23. Greg Simpson has been working all of them since 1993, and tells us what to expect this year, how the conference has evolved to include digital, and the value in attending. This week's episode is sponsored by Promosuite - who will also be in attendence at Canadian Music Week. If you are going, be sure to say hello to Rachel, CJ and Rocco and <a href="http://www.promosuite.com/soundoff">thank them for supporting this podcast</a>. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Sports is fast becoming the format of choice for graduating media students. With the commodity value of music at an all time low, and news becoming polarizing and at time "fake", Sports broadcasting attracting aspiring millennial broadcasters. Alex Rawnsley is the owner and creator of Sportscasterlife.com - a website designed to help Sportscasters get better at their craft. He has made available all the things he wished he had when he was developing as a sportscaster. After spending a few minutes on the site, having access to scoresheets and quick tips on building storyboards was interesting. <a href="http://www.sportscasterlife.com ">There are many other resources on the site</a>. This episode is sponsored by NLogic and there new cloud based ratings software LENS. For a free trial - http://bit.ly/nlogicso We also hear from Logan Anderson and his podcast "<a href="http://www.saythedamnscore.com/ ">Say the Damn Score!</a>". See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

We release this episode in the moments when we say goodbye to 2016 and hello to 2017. Perry Michael Simon is the news talk columnist for AllAccess.com and he provides us with some year end perspective. Radio is a reflection of the community and often the format is a record of how we react to what happens in the world. There's optimism, pessimism, and a while lot left on the table. If one of your New Year's Resolutions is better show prep for you podcast, radio show and streaming show - start here. Also in this episode, I have a few theories as to why death seemed larger than life in 2016.HAPPY NEW YEAR!See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Terry Dimonte is the morning man at CHOM 97.7 and he LOVES Christmas. Every year he spends the Friday before the morning show breaks for the holiday. Justin Trudeau has always made a point of stopping by to see his good friend and share some music from his iPod. When you become Prime Minister - everything changes. But not Justin's appearance on the Christmas show. He stills makes a point of seeing his good friend annually. In this episode, Terry tells the story of how their friendship started and how the show became a thing on the CHOM radio calendar.This episode is powered by NLogic and their new cloud based radio application - Lens. For a free trial, go to http://bit.ly/2yn3uCo  See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

David Marsden was inducted in the Canadian Music Industry and Broadcast Hall of Fame back in 2011. Most of us might consider hitting the beach at that point, but David carries the Spirit of Radio onward with http://NYtheSpirit.com - a high quality streaming free form station whose sound rivals that of any FM product. David penned an editorial for <a href="http://www.fyimusicnews.ca/articles/2016/12/13/around-dial-broadcast-media-news-today">FYIMusicnews.ca</a>, citing the disconnect between radio and millennials. I wanted to know more about the man who had propelled CFNY to great notoriety in the 80's, what he is up to today, and what radio can do to reconnect with the connected. Also - Scruff Connors who passed away over the weekend.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Paul Kaye is the National Talent Coach for Rogers Radio. He held a similar role at Newcap in Calgary (Amp 90.3) and Vancouver (Z95.3) before heading to Toronto to join Rogers owned Kiss 92.5. His blog posts are widely shared and refreshing in a era where what constitutes great content is frequently contested. What's really encouraging is that the positions involving "talent" and "coaching" are (re)appearing in companies across North America. Also - "There's a podcast for that!", 2016 is the year of the retiring sports announcer, and the benefits of putting your work up on Soundcloud. You never know who will hear it. The show is brought to you by NLogic! http://bit.ly/2yn3uCo   See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Steve Kowch is a talent coach, radio consultant and ran two of the biggest News Talk stations in Canada for many decades; CJAD in Montreal and News Talk 1010 CFRB in Toronto. As I was interviewing Steve about talent and journalism, I thought of all of his experiences he had with the mega-sized news stories he covered in Montreal and Toronto. (FLQ, PQ, Referenda, Olympics, Sars, Rob Ford) As this is a podcast designed to better broadcasters everywhere, it's only fitting that we spoke to the author of "<a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Things-Wish-Before-Making-Media/dp/0986676799">99 Things You Wish You Knew Before You Make it Big in Media". </a>Most of what I know about newsrooms and journalism came from having worked at CHOM/CKGM in the early 90's, (although Steve had left for CJAD, he had taught the likes of Mark Kelley, Ann Shatilla and countless others how to pass on what they knew to others. If it sounds like Steve laments the days of busier newsrooms and the knowledge sharing that transpired, he has high praise for those doing journalistic work today.Thanks also to the people who make this show possible every week including:<a href="http://www.promosuite.com/soundoff">Promosuite</a><a href="http://www.coreimagestudio.com/">Justin Dove at Core Image Studios</a><a href="http://www.megatrax.com/">Megatrax</a>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Charles Adler has made his way back to the Corus Radio, the place he spent nearly a decade doing a national radio show from 2004 to 2013. In this episode, Charles tells us who the best radio personality is in Canada, what makes terrestrial radio great, and how the media mishandled the U.S. election. I had the luxury of working with Charles for a number of years and if it sounds like we are catching up, it's because it's been a year. This episode is powered by NLogic and their new cloud based radio application - Lens. For a free trial, go to http://bit.ly/nlogicso Take our audience survey here - so we can do a better job! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=c-pwg3hNJ1tz&amp;ver=standard See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Christopher Ward was one of the first Much Music VJ's. His new book is called <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/253493/is-this-live-by-christopher-ward/9780345810342/ ">Is This Live? Inside the Wild Early Years of Much Music: The Nation's Music Station. </a>There's a lot we forgot or don't know about the station's early years. Partly because not everyone had the channel for the first few years; it was not apart of the basic cable package until 1987. That led to some lean years budget wise. And this is where the genius of programming head John Martin came in: He hired creative types who knew how to fill a blank canvas. Enter Christopher Ward. You can learn a lot from the past. Being challenged by a budget can always be overcome by hiring creative people who can fill the space. Other things I learned: The first female VJ was Catherine McClanahan, (not Erica Ehm) that I once wrote to MuchMusic and complained, and how often Christopher's friend Mike Meyers would appear on the station. Christopher left for reasons that were all too obvious; writing and producing Alannah Myles' number one song in 1989, "Black Velvet". He told me about the joys of having a number one song on his resume. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Leslie Scott is the Program Director 107.7 The End in Seattle. the alternative station started in 1991 in the throes of the grunge movement. Earlier this year - they committed to their millennial audience by committing to less commercials and playing great music. Now, that's a time old cliché that every station claims, but they backed it up with a 2 minute cluster guarantee, marketed it with a hashtag #2MinutePromise and cut their inventory in half. Entercom is so serious about debunking the myths and highlighting that reality - <a href="http://www.millenniallab.com/ ">they have a website dedicated to it. </a>http://www.millenniallab.com/ Want to appeal to Millennials? It's not hard. Don't lie. See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Terry Evans has been an Edmonton radio mainstay for 36 years. I know this because 18 years ago, he reminded me that he has been in radio for 18 years. He has been written off and told time and time again that his time is over; yet maintains a solid following and entrenchment into the community. We could all learn from Terry; which is why he is on the podcast this week. Also I provide a small take on the American Election. <a href="http://bit.ly/2eDvabH">I wrote a full blog about it here</a> - but also shared audio from Van Jones about presidents who master new mediums. Randy Renaud's new radio feature is called "Myths &amp; Legends" and deserves your attention. This is what happens when you write well and match it with incredible production. If you want the series for your station please contact him randy@chom.com See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Mark Ramsey is a media strategist and researcher who has a history of innovative thoughts and approaches towards the audio medium. Consider his Hivio gatherings in 2015 and 2016 which celebrated audio under the banner of a “festival” rather than “conference”, and “audio” rather than “radio”. His twice monthly podcast with author Tom Asacker is a half hour of time well spent in this era of multi-platform media delivery. Take a few moments to take the Podtrac Survey so we can do a better job: http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=c-pwg3hNJ1tz&amp;ver=standard See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The first ever Sound Off Convention took place this week. An amazing collection of speakers came out for the Sound Off Convention and the W Downtown Hilton Hyatt Marriot. Speakers Included: * Matt Cundill, Sound Off Podcast Host.  * Jason Barrett, Barrett Sports Media discussing Sports talent. * Perry Michael Simon, All Access.com on Radio innovation.  * Marty Forbes, Radiowise &amp; Alan Cross, Major League Mixes, on digital / radio.  ​​* Humble &amp; Fred, http://www.humblefredradio.com * Seth Resler, Jacobs Media.  I want to thank all the organizers for their efforts and we will see you again next year! If you could take a few moments to take the audience survey for the Podcast - it would be appreciated. http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=c-pwg3hNJ1tz&amp;ver=standard See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.