Trailblazers

Get ready, this week’s Trailblazers is packed with energy! 🎙️   In this episode, Ileana Landon sits down with Mark Chase, a true radio pro who’s been rocking the airwaves for over 40 years. From Armed Forces Radio and TV overseas to major U.S. markets like San Diego, to his current role at Deer Creek Broadcasting in Chico, CA, Mark has done it all: program director, production wizard, and on-air personality.   But Mark’s story isn’t just about radio. He’s also passionate about giving back… mentoring new talent, teaching, and supporting causes close to his heart like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Wounded Warriors, High Sierra Animal Rescue, and the Butte Humane Society.   With awards on his shelf, international experience, and decades of stories to share, Mark brings wisdom, laughs, and a whole lot of heart to this episode.   Don’t miss this fun and inspiring conversation with someone who truly lives and breathes broadcasting!

Nos llena de orgullo presentar a Tito López en este episodio de Trailblazers en Español. Un verdadero referente de la radio en Latinoamérica, Tito ha dedicado más de 30 años a transformar emisoras en Colombia, Costa Rica, México y Chile, dejando huella como director nacional de programación, gerente general y consultor internacional.   Escucha este episodio donde Tito nos comparte desde sus experiencias mágicas y sus momentos de aprendizaje. Desde sus inicios en Caracol Radio, donde lideró más de 50 estaciones musicales, hasta su rol como pionero en Blu Radio y RCN, Tito ha combinado visión estratégica, talento creativo y pasión por la radio. Actualmente, comparte su experiencia como consultor en Radio Somos (Chile) y como columnista para Monitor Latino.   Escucha este episodio y descubre cómo Tito es un verdadero Trailblazer y cómo tú también puedes llegar a serlo! Removed last sentence you had and combined verdadero so we don’t say Trailblazer twice.

Estamos emocionados y honrados de tener con nosotros a Felipe Chavez, Director de Operaciones de Bustos Media, en este episodio de Trailblazers Español. Un líder visionario que, desde 1996, ha jugado un papel crucial en la evolución de Bustos Media, supervisando hoy la operación de 25 estaciones de radio en Oregón, Washington, California y Arizona.   Felipe comenzó su carrera en la Universidad del Valle de México (UVM), donde se graduó en Ciencias de la Comunicación. Su viaje profesional comenzó en Bustos Media como Vicepresidente de Tecnología, donde manejó más de 30 estaciones de radio, y desde allí, se aventuró en diversas áreas como producción, tráfico y operaciones.   Hoy, Felipe divide su tiempo entre Tucson, Arizona, y los mercados clave de Bustos Media, viajando constantemente para estar en el corazón de la acción. También se ha establecido como un líder dentro de la industria, formando parte de la junta del Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) y representando al Distrito 23 de Radio en la Junta Directiva de la National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).   Escucha nuestro primer episodio en español y descubre cómo Felipe es un Trailblazer y cómo tú también puedes llegar a serlo. ¡Felipe es un verdadero Trailblazer!

We’re excited to welcome Christina Barsi, founder and CEO of Boss-Goddess.co, to this month’s episode of Trailblazers. A pioneer in podcast-first marketing and intuitive entrepreneurship, Barsi helps women-owned businesses and major brands grow with a strategy-driven, soul-centered, no-hustle approach. Barsi entered the podcasting world in 2013 with her sci-fi noir audio drama DIMENSION, which ranked in the top 100 for both physics and mystery on Goodpods. She went on to produce the documentary Is Anyone Listening, which premiered at Sci-Fi London and explored podcasting’s creative power. Through Boss-Goddess.co, Barsi combines aligned content strategy with holistic business growth. She’s also the founder of The Women’s Podcast Industry Network™, a global community spotlighting and supporting women in the podcasting space. In addition to running her businesses, Barsi hosts Boss-Goddess, a top-ranked podcast that helps women reconnect with their intuition and build businesses that reflect their true selves. In this episode, Barsi shares the inspiration behind Boss-Goddess.co, the story of launching The Women’s Podcast Industry Network™, and what it means to be a true Trailblazer and find out how you can become one too!  Don’t miss this empowering conversation.

We are truly excited and honored to have Jack Hobbs, founder of reVolver Podcasts, on this month’s episode of Trailblazers. A visionary in Hispanic media, Jack has been instrumental in shaping the industry, from his early days at Univision to revolutionizing the digital audio space with reVolver Podcasts. After decades of success in television and radio—growing Univision’s Dallas sales office from $5 million to $50 million and building the HBC Radio Network—Jack set his sights on the future of audio content. In 2015, he co-founded reVolver Podcasts, recognizing the massive potential of digital streaming and the lack of multicultural representation in mainstream podcasting. Today, reVolver Podcasts is the leading multicultural audio platform, featuring top Latino creators and exclusive partnerships with Televisa, Fox Deportes, RCN, and over 100 programs. With talents like Erazno y La Chocolata, Piolín, Don Cheto, and Luis Jiménez, reVolver has transformed how brands and audiences connect through podcasting. Join us as we dive into Jack’s incredible career and explore how reVolver Podcasts is shaping the future of Latino digital media. Jack is a true Trailblazer! Find out how you can become one too on this month’s episode of Trailblazers.

We are truly excited and honored to have Chad Rufer on this month’s episode of Trailblazers. Chad discovered his passion for music during his teenage years while involved with his high school’s radio station, KWDM. At just sixteen, he landed his first real radio job hosting a Saturday night “Party Song” show on KLYF in Des Moines, IA, while also anchoring news for its sister station, WHO-AM.   With over 30 years of radio experience, Chad has risen from weekend on-air talent to Vice President of Programming for one of the most respected radio groups in the industry. His expertise has earned him recognition as one of the "Best Program Directors in America" by Radio Ink in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023, as well as being named one of Country Radio's Top Program Directors in 2023 and 2024.

This month, we are joined by Tom Fox, President and Founder of the award-winning Compliance Podcast Network and the Texas Hill Country Podcast Network where Tom personally produces over 70 podcasts each week! Tom has won multiple awards for podcast hosting and producing and has the distinct honor of garnering awards for series as diverse as Looking Back on 9/11, Understanding Lyme Disease, and Trial of the Century: The Enron Trial. He is also an Executive leader at the C-Suite Network, the world’s most trusted network of C-Suite leaders.   Find out how his curiosity and a major life event led him to podcasting. Learn how he cracked the code to monetize and earn a six-figure income via 5 distinct revenue streams as a content producer in rural Texas!   Tom is also a best-selling author, having written 32 books on compliance, business ethics, and leadership. He is the author of the seminal The Compliance Handbook, 5th edition. He has published a 3-book children’s book series, Compliance Kids, including Being a Compliance Officer is Awesome, Speaking Up is Awesome, and Compliance Saves the Galaxy. Tom Fox is a true Trailblazer! Tune in to find out how you can become one too!

We are truly excited and honored to have Jason Barrett, the President and Founder of Barrett Media, on this month’s episode of Trailblazers. Before launching his company in 2015, Jason worked in the industry for 20 years as a programmer, host, and producer. Jason has served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming Sports Talk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. He also worked as an on-air talent and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He then spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT, including The Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight. Still involved in radio, podcasting, and the tech world, find out how you can become a Trailblazer like Jason too!

This month on the Trailblazers podcast we are very excited to have Steve Goldstein as our guest. Steve is an internationally recognized executive and leader in scaling and refining audio ventures across podcasting, radio, satellite radio, and voice platforms. He has developed scores of successful podcast initiatives, radio shows, top talent, and monetization strategies. Steve is an adjunct professor at NYU where he teaches "The Business of Podcasting," the first course at a major university focused on the burgeoning podcast ecosystem. Known for his creativity, unique diagnostic tools, and ability to see what’s next, Steve was early to podcasting, launching Amplifi Media in 2015. Before that, he was a founding partner and EVP of Saga Communications. The company grew to over 100 radio stations and became publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange. Please listen to this month's episode featuring Steve Goldstein, to find out why podcasts fail, what you can do to ensure yours doesn't, the future of audio, and so much more. Steve is a true Trailblazer.  Find out how you can become one too on this month’s episode of Trailblazers.

This month we are excited to have Talaya Trigueros, on-air talent/host of Sirius XM Watercolors Channel 66 (Monday through Saturday) and occasionally of Real Jazz Channel 67. In this episode, Talaya discusses the beginning of her radio career at the University of New Mexico’s KUNM playing Latin Jazz and Salsa, followed by a move to San Francisco where KRE-AM, a legendary Jazz station in Berkeley, quickly hired her. There she was given her own show, Sabor y Salsa, and due to her stellar ratings in the Bay Area, the company transferred her to Los Angeles to launch The Quiet Storm at KUTE. While there she was the first in the country to interview Sade and play "Smooth Operator,” a favorite artist and song from fans alike. In 1988, The WAVE hired her in Los Angeles where she remained for many years. As a consummate professional, Talaya has received numerous awards including the inaugural 1998 R&R Industry Achievement Award for Smooth Jazz On-Air Personality, the GENII Award for Excellence in Radio from Alliance for Women in Media, the National Hispanic Media Coalition along with honorary recognitions from the Los Angeles County and City Board of Supervisors and the prestigious Angelus Award. Her genuine happiness is spending time with her husband Tony of 46 years, two children, and five grandchildren. We are very excited to have Talaya on this month’s episode because, for over 30 years, her success has been unmatched and she is still figuring out ways to get us to love the radio format and music. Find out why and how she’s had such longevity in the business. Talaya is a true Trailblazer. Find out how you can become one too if you want to follow in her footsteps.

This month we are excited to have Sam Parker, Creative Director at WIZZFX - a custom audio production branding service, responsible for crafting the sound of some of the biggest radio and podcast brands across the globe. Alongside Chris Nicoll, Sam leads a team of creatives pushing the boundaries of “traditional” radio imaging and sonic branding. Championing grassroots talent is one of his core values and further helps to differentiate the WIZZFX Masterclass platform, currently the only radio imaging training resource of its kind. He also provides mentorship to aspiring audio producers in the UK’s Student Radio Association and further afield. In this episode, Sam not only discusses his experiences in radio and his current responsibilities at WIZZFX, but he also showcases a step-by-step process of how you, the listener, can make a promo in just 2 minutes using a toolkit like WIZZFX Construct. Sam is a true trailblazer, and like Chris, we are all very proud to work alongside him and the entire WIZZFX team. You will too! Whether you're looking for completely custom fully-produced promos, sweepers, and more, or just interested in the imaging toolkit to create your own, WIZZFX allows you to bundle your agreement with Megatrax or as a stand-alone product.

We had so much left to talk about with Dylan Riggs, Director of Production Operations at Audacy nationwide,  that we welcomed him back for another episode! Dylan is responsible for all commercial production at Audacy, is an executive producer of the “The Daly Download Top 30 Countdown with Carson Daly,” and is a voiceover talent that can be heard on 100+ stations weekly across North America. In this episode,  we discussed with Dylan his memorable moments in radio, his mindset changes from being an on-air jock to a director of production operations, his experience working on the Carson Daly radio show and all the different layers of social media in the radio industry and why he changed from on-air to production due to social media! Dylan’s amazing radio experiences and his “never accepting no as an answer” mindset has made him a true Trailblazer at the helm of one of the nation’s largest radio companies.   Dylan is, without a doubt, a TrailBlazer.  Find out how you can become one too!

On this month’s episode we are joined by Garrick Whitehead who is currently Senior Audio Producer/Imaging/Voiceover for Educational Media Foundation – a non-profit, multi-platform media company that owns the nation’s largest contemporary Christian radio networks – K-LOVE and Air 1. Garrick has worked around the globe3 as a DJ and audio producer and is obsessed with sound and how it touches the listeners.  He is also the father of 7 children (yes, 7)! and husband to one beautiful wife.  In this episode of TrailBlazers, Garrick talks about his transition of being an architectural student to his beginnings in the radio industry, his day-to-day operations at EMF,  and the radio tools that he likes to use on his radio programs. He  also briefly discusses the importance of internships and his advice on entering the radio industry for anyone interested in joining the field and the tools to master. Garrick’s life and work experience truly makes him a Trailblazer!  Have a listen and find out how you too can become a Trailblazer!

On this month’s episode we are joined by Dylan Riggs, Director of Production Operations at Audacy,  nationwide.  Dylan is responsible for all commercial production at Audacy, is an executive producer of the “The Daly Download Top 30 Countdown with Carson Daly,” and is a voiceover talent that can be heard on 100+ stations weekly across North America.  He’s also a guitar hoarder (54 and counting).   Dylan talks about his experiences at different radio stations, his love of metal music, and an incredible story about his fist internship detailing how he got started in the radio industry. He also shares with us about his success in radio and meeting all the great radio people who have helped him throughout his career.  He shares many great ways to succeed and how to stay on your A-Game.   Dylan’s “never accepting no as an answer” mentality has made him a true Trailblazer at the helm of one of the nation’s largest radio companies.   Dylan is, without a doubt, a TrailBlazer.  Find out how you can become one too!

On this month’s episode we are joined by Joel Denver, President, Publisher, and Co- founder of All Access Music Group. Joel has been heard on many markets from Miami to San Diego, and has been a program director, record promoter, CHR Editor of Radio and Records and now the head of All Access Music Group-one of the nation’s most successful radio and podcasting trade publications.    2023 began ALL ACCESS’ 28th year of success serving all of radio/streaming platforms/podcasting and working with all music labels, creative content partners and hundreds of allied business partners to deliver music to decision makers and provide a 24/7/365 marketing and information ecosystem for their products and services.  Joel recently announced the closing of All Access on August 15, 2023.   In this episode of Trailblazer’s, Joel talks about his inspirations in becoming a great program director, his transition into Radio & Records, his career advice and experience working in the radio world. Find out what makes Joel Denver tick and why he gets up at 3:40 AM every morning!  Also, find out what the greatest piece of advice he’s ever received and how we can all benefit from this advice he was given.   Joel Denver is a true Trailblazer!  Find out how you can become one too!

On this month's episode, we are joined by Myron "Magic" Giggua, the Production Director and Radio Personality at Radio One Atlanta. Magic, known for his remarkable career in the radio industry, has been riding the airwaves for over 20 years. He began his professional journey at the esteemed Carter Broadcasting station, HOT 103 JAMZ in Kansas City. More recently, he also founded MVP Magic Voice Productions, a multimedia audio recording company specializing in advertising campaigns, music, and film production. Magic's extensive experience and dedication make him a sought-after mentor and coach for several radio personalities. He is also actively involved in a foundation called "How Big Is Your Dream," which aims to engage young people in the music business. In this episode of Trailblazer's, Magic joins us to discuss radio production, his career trajectory, his time at Radio One Atlanta, his daily routine, and his creative process. We delve into the insights of a true Trailblazer, whose passion and commitment continue to shape his successful radio career. Discover how you too can become a Trailblazer in your field!

On this month’s episode we are joined by Ron Shapiro the Content Creator at Spotify who is greatly experienced at every level of radio & is now a major player in podcasting world with one of the largest podcasting platforms globally, Spotify.   He began his career as a producer on the Casey Kasem American Top 40 program, then the director of ABC watermark and was also the producer of the world famous KISSFM here in Los Angeles, CA. On this episode Ron discusses his experience working at Watermark and the radio programs he worked on such as American Country Countdown, Soundtrack of the 60’s and many more.  His career trajectory has lead him to be at the helm of both radio and podcasting.   In this episode of TrailBlazers, Ron talks about the importance of adaptability in the radio & podcast industries.  He shares the importance of always staying on top of technology, editing techniques, and more.  Ron also discusses his role at Spotify and the content he is currently creating by assisting other podcasters on the platform and how he can help you with your podcast.   Ron Shapiro is a true Trailblazer!  Find out how you can become one too!

On today’s episode we are joined by Michele Cobb, executive director of the Podcast Academy in New York city. An organization with its mission to unite podcasts creators, industry leaders & people from all over the podcast life.   Michele is also a podcaster & has her own podcast titled “The Stories of Impact Podcast” where she speaks with individuals working in the world of science, research, & has great discussions on human flourishing. When she isn’t on the mic podcasting, she has her own consulting business for the audio publishing world with At Forte Business Consulting where she assists others in explaining how the industry works, buying rights, and finding distribution.   In this podcasts Michele will be discussing about the importance of networking, her career highlights, new projects she’s working on,  how she is focusing on podcasting, publishing & audio publishing and how you can too.   Her extensive experience in theatre, working with audio theatre companies & now the podcast world has made her a true Trailblazer in this industry. Listen in to learn why Michele is a true trailblazer and how you can become one too!

This month we are joined by Bill Schultz, Executive VP of Content at Cadence 13, an Audacy company, and leading podcast studio dedicated to premium storytelling and production. For over 30 years, Bill has made his mark in the broadcasting world and currently works with a team of content creators and influencers to develop, produce, and monetize on-demand audio content covering many genres, including political, sports, comedy, lifestyle, documentary, and true-crime. Listen in to learn why Bill is a true Trailblazer and how you can become one too!

Today we are joined by Jake Kaplan, Director of Imaging and Sound Design at Audacy inc. He is an award-winning sound designer with extensive experience in using audio to tell a story. Jake is also a voiceover artist and was previously the Creative Director of Programming for 97.1 Amp Radio and Channel Q in Los Angeles. Listen in to learn why Jake is a true trailblazer and how you can become one too!