About as predictable as … something really predictable … Terry DiMonte and Ted Bird are back together again. At least in the short term.
After a summer vacation following his departure from his position as CHOM’s morning man, Terry DiMonte launched a new podcast this month with his old friend Ted Bird, called Standing By. Its episodes, available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts, feature the two radio veterans reminiscing about the old days, their health, how they met, random anecdotes. Episode 2 focuses on the Canadiens, and Episode 3 on their time at Mix 96 (mainly going up against Howard Stern).
The podcast already has sponsors, namely those with long-standing relationships to Terry and Ted, including Matelas Bonheur, Jaguar Land Rover Laval and Merson Automotive.
If you’re a fan of this pair, you may have heard some of these stories before, and if you’re not a fan, you probably won’t be that interested in the podcast.
If you’re like me and more interested in the radio industry, I would recommend this episode of the Pantelis Podcast (which also produces the Terry and Ted podcast) in which Terry and Ted are interviewed. It goes into some detail about their careers and what happened when each of them left CHOM. They talk about their disagreements with managers (those managers generally aren’t named, but they’re generally referring to people like former CHOM program director Daniel Tremblay and former Bell Media regional VP Martin Spalding). And they discuss their views on the industry in general, how radio suffered by the transition from family-owned networks to corporate conglomerates, and how a return to smaller ownership groups and competition wit podcasts may be bringing some quality and human connection back.
DiMonte and Bird promise that they won’t just be two old guys talking about the olden days, and they’ll have stories about their interactions with music stars and others that you may have never heard before, as well as content that’s “contemporary.”
But even if their target audience is just Generation Xers who listened to CHOM growing up, that’s ok. In the podcast world, you don’t need to please everybody.
Standing By: The Terry and Ted Podcast has new episodes on Wednesdays. You can follow it on Facebook, Twitter and other places.
Yeah. They are right. It amazes me that CHOM would fire/quit their franchise. Or that other Bell properties are gassing stars left and right. Darryl McIntyre anchored CTV Ed, number one in the market, for about 33 years. Gassed. From a dollars and sense point of view it makes no cents. Puns intended.
If these great talents weren’t relevant to their demographics it would be understandable.
They went out on top.
D
Congratulations to both Terry and Ted. I didn’t grow up here but I do enjoy learning about the history of radio and television in Montreal. I’m sure they will do well.
Terry and Ted together is always a good thing. The two of them are not only both great radio people, but their friendship and mutual respect comes through in amazing ways. In an era where morning show / afternoon shows are often pairings or groupings of people who it seems can’t stand each other, these two are something special – and something that modern radio lacks.
The first shows seem really interesting and accessible, clearly there is no pressure on these guys and they are just rolling in it and loving it. However, if their goal is a somewhat longer term project, they are going to need to expand their horizons pretty quickly to include things away from memory lane. After all, even with a truly rich and amazing past to pull stories from, memory lane does get a little threadbare over time.
Good luck to them, it’s great to see two really good friends doing what executives and such were too stupid to understand.
For anyone who has ever followed Montreal radio, the Pantelis interview is excellent. I have listened to the three podcasts and they certainly held my attention. I wish them the best in this pursuit…. As someone who downloads at least 25 podcasts a week, they are certainly up there with the best of them…. The podcasts are available on youtube by subscribing to the Pantelis Podcast.
Have listened to all three and have enjoyed each one. Looking forward to the next one.
As an avid radio listener (for more years then I’d like to admit), I have to say this has been the most interesting and appreciated hour and some of conversation that I have experienced in a podcast.
I laughed. I cried. Bravo gentlemen!
Thank you to everyone for the kind comments. It’s just as easy to say something nice as it is to be jaded and cynical, and we appreciate the positivity.