Paul Ferguson: Local Is Still Alive and Well

Paul Ferguson, VP of Programming and Operations at Starboard Communications in Belleville, Ontario discusses radio in a very unique market. Belleville is free from corporate ownership. Paul and I talk about how they keep radio relevant by focusing on local content, like the “Good News in Quinte” newsletter and a robust news website that keeps listeners informed and engaged. We discuss the challenges of adapting to new radio regulations, misguided internet laws like Bill C-11, the antidote which is Inquinte.ca and why it’s crucial to own our digital platforms to stay connected with our audience. Paul shares the administrative hurdles of Canadian content rules and how technology could make things easier. We also explore the evolution of radio, balancing live and voice-tracked shows, and the podcast journey with “Babes of Quinte.” This episode is about the importance of localism, innovation, and community-driven content in today's challenging radio space. The listener survey can be found here. Complete it and I'll share with you, my Top 10 Podcast Hacks for 2025. Please sign up for the SOUNDING OFF Newsletter. Full of all the things you never knew what you were missing in your life. Both the Sound Off Podcast and The Podcast Superfriends are apart of The Open Podcast Prefix Project (OP3) A free and open-source podcast prefix analytics service committed to open data and listener privacy. You can be a nosey parker by checking out our downloads here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.