Remember the 1952 movie classic Singin' In The Rain? The musical is about the transition from silent films to talking pictures in the 1920s Hollywood. A key plot point is that Lina Lamont has a difficult time adapting to talking pictures.
In the 1940s, comedian Fred Allen had arguably the most popular show on radio. Sadly, Allen was never able to make the transition to TV.
Radio personality, podcaster, teacher, podcasting coach, and producer Rich DeSisto moves seamlessly from radio to podcasting and back to radio in a frictionless transition and as an acknowledged master of audio.
In this edition of Podcaster Profiles, we'll talk to Rich and understand how he made his bones in radio but was able to transition into podcasting to such an extent that he now teaches Studio Operations, Digital Audio Editing and Podcasting at the CBS Media Center in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which is only 10 miles from Philadelphia.
Rich has decades of experience in the radio industry, being a radio personality for multiple radio stations. He currently works for Beasley Media at Magic 98.3 serving Central Jersey. Rich also works for Beasley at WMTR 1250 Morristown, NJ, serving Morris County and the surrounding area.
Rich has also done voice-over work for over a decade. With all of these jobs, Rich understands that his voice is his most valuable instrument.
Rich, a South Jersey local, attended the Center for Broadcast Training and graduated with a Certificate in Radio and Television Broadcasting.
In Rich's audio podcasting classes, Rich stresses the importance of students developing a relationship with the microphone.
"When you study for a radio career, the microphone is all-important," Rich notes. "It's a lesson that many indie podcasters learn through trial and error, but there are exercises and routines to improve voice projection, clarity, and register."
Rich teaches students to use their diaphragm when speaking into the mic, stay hydrated, practice mouth exercises, no dairy, no carbonation, and hum to open up your throat.
In his podcasting class, Rich teaches audio podcasting only.
"While video podcasts are the new shiny object," Rich notes, "Audio podcasting is still the gold standard. Why watch a video of two people talking surrounded by microphones and sound boards."
Rich focuses his podcasting coaching on helping people to leverage their podcast to grow their business.
"Podcasting can be a helpful tool for businesses to improve their brand visibility, create leads for more sales, drive clients to their business offerings, and open up new markets," Rich counsels.
If being a radio personality, podcasting teacher, and podcast coach isn't enough of a full plate, Rich is also a successful independent podcaster.
Rich's Aircheck podcast has been producing episodes since January 2019. In radio, an aircheck is a recording of a radio broadcast that is used for quality control, evaluation, and demonstration.
Rich, along with Paul Kelly, has interviewed radio personalities such as Danny Bonaduce, Nina Blackwood, and Eddie Trunk on the show. Aircheck keeps its episode length manageable and breaks up its interviews into smaller chunks, avoiding the massive runtimes that podcasts have drifted to in the last few years. Aircheck begins its fifth season very soon.
Podcasting has blossomed from the roots planted by radio. In the earlier days of podcasting, popular radio shows were often played as podcasts with little or no editing. Many of the early podcast hosts began in radio.
A radio personality like Rich DeSisto has been able to maneuver from the past, into the present and prepared for the future through podcast coaching to leverage podcasts for business, teaching audio podcasting to students, producing his own podcast, and still performing on the radio.
Rich DeSisto is a man of many talents.
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