This week we're joined by Dean Blundell to talk about his newest venture: Crier Media. It's the best way to find all the blog and podcast content you love from Dean's network, all in one place, but it's also a lot more than that. It's a cooperative of podcasters, writers, bloggers, and all kinds of folks from the radio industry who got sick of seeing big radio companies prioritize the wrong things. The Sound Off Media Company partnered with Dean a few years ago and manage the podcast side of their business and collaborate on marketing.

Crier Media wants to shift the focus back to the talent, and give them a springboard to do whatever they want with their own content. We talk with Dean about why he started Crier, as well as how it ties into his storied and controversial history with radio and his podcast. He calls it being a responsible citizen- no guidelines for what can and can't be covered, no fear of taking risks because some corporate bigwig is afraid of losing profits, just digging as deep as you need to on stories that need to be told.

This discussion inevitably leads us to talking about Caryma Sa'd, who works with Dean regularly and who we both agree is awesome. The best place to follow her is on Twitter, but you can also check out her website, carymarules.com. And hey, you can find her posts on Crier, too!

And, of course, it wouldn't be a Sound Off Podcast episode with a former radio personality without copious discussion about the inevitable death of radio. But we're not just ragging on it needlessly- a lot of Dean's reasons for starting Crier are tightly tied into the problems radio is facing. From personalities taking the backseat to radio stations broadly sucking wind when it comes to transitioning to podcasts, we talk about all the things that made Dean sick enough to start his own place for the lost and forgotten souls of radio to feel at home again.

It should go without saying that you should check out Crier Media, but that goes double if you're a broadcast industry vet looking to start doing your own thing. Head to their website, Crier.co, or shoot an email to [email protected] and they'll see what they can do for you. You should also follow Dean in all the usual places: DeanBlundell.com, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

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Here is a transcription if you need one.

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