Recovering Douche Bag on the Importance of Slow Journalism; “Rod” Joins Female Podcast Network; Podcast Evolutions Recapped; “Skip Intro” Turns 5

Retired San Francisco Ad Man Joey Dumont knows the power of engaging with uncomfortable truths when it comes to working with brands.

While a former Questus managing director, Dumont wrote his memoir “Joey Somebody: The Life and Times of a Recovering Douchebag” so his sons would have a record of the messiness of their father’s previous transgressions as an executive in Media.

“There are some really cool things that take place in your being when you’re humble and honest and authentic about who you are… and I was being a douche-bag at that moment.” -Joey Dumont

Now a fully recovered douchebag, Dumont’s new journalistic platform, True Thirty lives in that same messy middle, exploring today’s most thorny issues through the lens of slow journalism with a politically-diverse team.

“Slow journalism is as simple as it sounds: it means taking the time to decide what we want to cover, why, when and how. We won’t spit things out quickly or irresponsibly. We’re not worried about our voice being heard constantly or loudly.“

One takeaway from Dumont is that authentic brands need to examine their ugly truth before someone else weaponizes it against them. If your brand is trying to build trust, his recommendation is to own your whole product and media supply chains, good, bad and ugly to see where you’re falling short. Then fix it if possible, and come clean either way and move forward.

This level of transparency is what makes his new media startup, True Thirty, a model for the future of journalism.

“At True Thirty, the stories we present are about news – true news through the lens of slow journalism – not winning a fight. We are about learning and polite discourse. Leave enragement news to others.”

Tune in to hear:

• How calling himself out as a douchebag saved Dumont from getting beat up
• Why he is okay with offending 30% of the population.
• Lessons on truth from Shaq and Patagonia
• Why Slow Journalism is the answer to many of our current woes and how TrueThirty is solving the problem
• How to admire people with whom you disagree

Despite the self-deprecating approach, Joey has a serious mission that would benefit the state of journalism today, and therefore, the direction of our country. Click below to hear about the living model he’s creating for a better future in media.

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The Classifieds

Female Focused Podcast Network Diversifies Roster with Rod

The content surrounding work from home corporate culture has become massively popular on Tik Tok, ever since the day we all grabbed a couple of items off our desks and headed home for two weeks in March 2020. Tik Tok star and new podcast host, Rod, knows the struggle all too well, as he has spent much of the pandemic creating relatable and comedic content for his 1.4m Millennial and Gen Z followers. Dear Media’s newest podcast touches on these topics as well as early 2000s culture, nostalgia, and trends, while also focusing on mental health and burnout. As the title suggests the show is projected to boast a mostly millennial audience, many of whom are literate in social media. The show sits firmly within the comedy genre and is a diverse option for those interested in an LGBTQIA+ audience. Stop scrolling your for you page and click below for more details.

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Advertisecast Offers Influencer Readers Deep Discount on April Inventory

Representing over 2,500 in total, our friends over at Advertisecast podcast network are offering a round of last-minute deals for our clients interested in remnant opportunities in April. Here are some important callouts to pique interest in these great shows: Sleep Meditation for Women is available for 40% off and would be an optimal fit for those that prioritize sleep podcasts, female skew audiences, and deep discounts. Joe Rogan Experience Review podcast is a solid option for those who want to reach Rogan’s large and loyal audience without spending a considerable budget to test. Golf Talk America sits firmly in the often coveted golfing genre and has open availability through the first two weeks of April. Finally, Dave Lukas, The Misfit Entrepreneur is up for grabs and is one of the most established podcasts related to entrepreneurship and self-starters with limited avails at 30% off. For a rundown of even more great shows for consideration please click the link below.

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In Case You Missed It

Podcast Evolutions

The Podcast Evolution event took place at the end of last month in LA and because we were busy messing with our readers with a ridiculous April Fool’s prank, we didn’t cover everything that happened. Luckily, the folks at Podcast Movement have curated a list of highlights and recaps from across the podcast landscape. Podcast Business Journal’s Matty Staudt covered both the sessions and conversations  with fellow attendees in the hallways. Jennifer Tribe, Head of Marketing at Supercast, covered six useful takeaways from the week’s sessions and offstage conversations. Finally, Ami Thakkar of Tuckered Out with Ami Thakkar shared her thoughts on the event’s core idea of gathering podcasters to learn and connect in a meaningful way. If you didn’t make it to this year’s event, this is a great way to get caught up.

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Podcast is Actually Radio Now

We foretold it years ago and the lines between what is a “podcast” and what is “radio” are becoming increasingly blurred. Bringing radio programs to podcast is nothing new, but the trend toward radio stations airing podcasts as part of their content is next. iHeart has been testing this for a couple of years now, but NPR (who has been repurposing radio content like This American Life as podcasts since the medium was invented) is the next in line. Beginning this week, you can now tune in to hear the popular Today Explained podcast on NPR stations across the country. From a business standpoint, the trend is a win-win-win. Radio stations can take popular content that’s already available as a podcast and repurpose it for terrestrial broadcast. For podcasters, it expands their reach to potential new audiences. For advertisers, it brings new opportunities to leverage proven content onto new platforms.

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“Skip Intro” Turns 5

Netflix’s “Skip Intro Button” officially turned five last month and the streaming behemoth celebrated the anniversary by sharing the origins of what seems to be the most useful feature they’ve ever created. Netflix says the skip the intro feature is used 136 million times each day, saving users 195 collective years of time over the past half-decade! While this tidbit of media knowledge is interesting, what can marketers learn from the Netflix innovation? Tom Petty (or perhaps Roxette, or BonJovi, or Dave Grohl) said it best, “Don’t Bore Us, Get to the Chorus”. When crafting your messaging, don’t waste time on a long preamble, get to the point early and repeat.. If you need help in crafting your brand’s message, we should chat. Click the connect link at the bottom of this email to schedule a call.

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This Week in Great Podcast Reads

A Meidas Touch with a Green Thumb

The MeidasTouch podcast is taking ad customization to a whole new level with their recent spot for Fast Growing Trees, the world’s largest online nursery for plants and trees. While many podcast hosts find success with personalizing a read with the addition of a few talking points, the brothers from MeidasTouch take it one step further. They hint at a little friendly competition to prompt further engagement from their listeners and create lasting impressions beyond just the single ad placement. These are just the types of partners we love to work with. Give them a Fast Growing Tree and they’ll plant you a forest-worth of Fast Growing Trees customers.

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