10 Questions with ... Podcaster Tony Brueski

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Tony Brueski is a commercial radio veteran. He most recently served as afternoon host and Imaging Director at Country KFDI/Wichita before focusing his goals on building his own podcast network in 2014. His podcasts include “Real Ghost Stories Online,” “The Grave Talks” and “The Dark Side Of,” which, collectively, have surpassed 100 million downloads throughout their lifetime. His background also includes stints as a judge and co-host for the Travel Channel series “Destination Showdown” and Managing Editor of the food website New Taste Today.

1. Commercial radio has been a part of your life since age 14. Fast-forward roughly two decades. It’s been eight years since you’ve hung up your headphones and resigned from daily radio as a member of the KFDI/Wichita family. What’s one thing you miss most from your full-time radio life? 

Hitting the post on a song! LOL. Seriously, so much fun back in the day, which is exactly what I miss most: what radio WAS, not what it IS today. I miss stations being relevant in their communities, stations having a staff that works together to create a fun product, and the general public caring about the medium.

Unfortunately, over the last 10 to 20 years, the powers that be have slowly chipped away everything that made radio stand out in fear that something else would “take over.” In doing so, they destroyed what made it fun and unique, and opened the door even wider for something better to take over. And it has. 

2. You often use the phrase “radio dork.” For those who have not heard the term, describe its endearing qualities and why someone would want to be called one. 

Someone who has the drive and passion for entertaining through audio in their blood. Either you have it, or you don’t. It’s not a “teachable” thing. 

The medium that made it happen initially was radio. Now, we see the same passion for podcasting and a medium that has allowed a world of creativity to take off. What’s sad is that radio could have had it! Rather than embrace the change and integrate it into its programming, it shunned it, and those with the talent found bigger and better ways of putting it out there. There are a few radio diamonds in the rough out there still, but it’s few and far between. 

3. As a broadcast veteran, serving in multiple capacities from night jock to morning show host, APD/MD and afternoon host, what’s the biggest similarity between podcast life and radio? And what’s the biggest difference?

I’ve always done “personality” radio. So, in a way, doing a podcast feels very much like doing a morning show, but with no limits. 

The most significant difference would be the fact that it’s ALL on you. There’s no promotion department, no PD, no GM and no sales team. You really must have an excellent compass to know what works, have the discipline to do it regularly and have the drive to stick with it. 

With podcasting, you’re competing with everyone in the world, not just the crappy station across town. Competing in the podcast landscape is amazing because you have independent podcasters like myself going head-to-head with brands like National Geographic, NPR, Discovery, and the hoard of other great independents.  It makes for a fascinating ecosystem. 

4. When did you start to think this podcast thing could be the next chapter of your broadcasting life? Did one specific thing happen, or was it a goal you had in place? 

It was honestly just a hobby that blew up. When I left commercial radio to start my agency, I still had that “itch” to be on the air and do something creative. So, I decided one day that I would try podcasting on a topic that I always loved: ghost stories. I set up a phone number and website to share the stories. I would then play the calls back and read the stories with a co-host in a fun, not-too-serious way.

At the time, no one was doing that format with the paranormal. I was shocked to see how many people started tuning in, and then it very quickly became another business. It’s so exciting to see the growth of the platform every year. It’s a lot like “playing radio station” as a kid at home, except now it pays the bills, and the audience is much larger than just my cat. 

5. As a fellow creative human, radio -- and broadcasting, in general -- is not exclusively about the money. You need to be able to scratch that creative itch. Even though you’re not in commercial radio today, what do you think is one way commercial radio can be a bit (or a lot) more creative to distinguish itself from all the other options for consuming music and artist content? 

Dump music. There are ZERO reasons for radio to be in the music business anymore.

It’s like they are pouring more water onto an already sinking ship, hoping that with “just a little more water,” it will somehow stay afloat. No radio station will ever program better than a single individual with their “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” on platforms like Pandora, Spotify and such. This is how people consume their music now, and it will never go back to radio. It’s more efficient and accurate. The industry needs to realize and accept this as fact. 

If radio wants to survive as a relevant medium, it needs to get into the interest/lifestyle business. If I had station today, I would flip formats to something like “True Crime 98.5.” Make agreements with podcasters to run their shows on the station in exchange for exposure or a percentage of the ads played on the show. Have a local staff or a daily show that discusses local “true crime,” or follow significant cases in the morning or afternoon drive. 

Do this, and suddenly everyone starts talking about a radio station again. It would be so much more compelling than anything out there on commercial radio right now. Why do you think NPR does so well these days? This is the format they are basically running. 

Do it on a commercial, for profit-basis, but stick to a narrow format with a large but very targeted audience based on interests, not just age and sex. You could also have things like “Mommy World 101.3,” “Outdoor Life 96.1,” whatever makes the most sense in each respective market. 

6. Growing up, was radio always what you wanted to do for a career?

Yes, I have cassette tapes of me at the age of 2 playing what I called “Ghostbuster Radio.” It’s funny, because my first “fake show” at 2 is really what I do today. It was a long-form format, talking about ghost stories into the tape deck. Essentially, very similar to my show today, minus the tape deck. 

7. As more broadcast professionals transition from radio to doing their own thing in the podcasting world, do you have any words of wisdom for those looking to make the leap? 

Pick a niche topic you are genuinely passionate about and present it uniquely. Don’t break the topic format. Forget everything you know about being a “DJ” on the radio. Know what’s out there before jumping in the pool so you can stand out. 

Then stick with it, and release content at the same time every week. It won’t pay your bills overnight. It could take years. But if you find your niche and can grow it, you will be amazed just how good podcasting and being your own boss can be. 

8. Radio stations are a unique place. Even more unique: the station staff kitchen. Do you remember the worst leftover a colleague brought to work, and did they warm it up in the staff microwave? 

It would be something I did! I was on a culinary kick, and was hosting a show on Travel Channel at the time. At my station, KFDI/Wichita, I wanted to bring in this exotic fruit I found called durian for everyone to try. (It tastes great, but smells like a decomposing corpse.) Once I was done with it, I put it in a sealed trashcan at the end of the hall. Well, that didn’t contain the smell!

Shortly after, my PD at the time, Beverlee Brannigan, was walking up and down the halls thinking something had died in the ceiling. I quickly removed it from the hall trash, but that hall smelled like death for a week. No microwave involved, thankfully! 

9. You’ve risen to success in the podcast world, so much so that you resigned from daily radio. Do you ever see yourself coming back to the broadcast family? 

No. I do miss what it was though. I still have the “radio dream,” where the CD players won’t work, the computer is fried, and the mic is stuck in the “on” position. Honestly, if local radio still had a weekend staff, I would probably sign up to do a shift for fun. But it just doesn’t exist in most places, so even if I wanted to, it’s a relic of the past. 

10. Working in multiple formats throughout your career, what made the Country format and its music consumer so unique? 

It seemed to be one of the last formats where the audience still had a solid connection to the station and brand. While that passion was dying in other formats, Country radio held on the longest, in my opinion. Some still have it. Having that connection is critical to success. I see it now more than ever in podcasting; it reminds me a lot of the old days of radio.

In addition to radio, cooking is another one of your true loves. A consultant comes to town to go over the fall book. Your OM delegates cooking the air staff and the consultant dinner to you. What do you make?  

Take out salad bar from Chuck E. Cheese.