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30 August 2023
Chachi Loves Everybody Episodes with Paul Anderson and Peter Smyth
“Chachi Loves Everybody” Podcast Releases Two New Episodes Featuring Media Titans Paul Anderson, CEO of Workhouse Media, and Peter Smyth, Former Chairman and CEO of Greater Media
LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 29, 2023 — Benztown, a global leader in radio imaging, voiceover, programming, podcasting and jingles, announces the release today of two new episodes of Chachi Loves Everybody, an original podcast produced by Benztown and featuring Benztown President and audio brand builder Dave “Chachi” Denes. The first new episode features Chachi’s recent chat from Benztown’s Los Angeles studios with Paul Anderson, CEO of Workhouse Media, and Peter Smyth, Former Chairman and CEO or Greater Media, in the second new episode.
To listen to the new podcast episodes, visit: https://bit.ly/ChachiLovesEverybody.
Chachi Loves Everybody takes listeners with Denes – better known as “Chachi” – as he sits down for candid conversations with radio’s legends, master brand builders, up-and-comers, and innovators in the burgeoning audio space, revealing the true stories behind their successes and their insights into building iconic brands through audio.
Chachi’s first guest is Paul Anderson, CEO of Workhorse Media, a leading audio first multi-platform talent and content management and production company with clients and partnerships working across radio, podcasting, television, and digital. Anderson has represented major talent including Dan Patrick, Rickey Smiley, Danny Bonaduce, Shondaland (Shonda Rhimes) and the late Bob Saget. He also produced award-winning podcasts including Cold, The Letter, Aftershock, Solar, The Undercovers, and several others. He won two Telly Awards for marketing campaigns he produced for Microsoft, and produced a movie called Two Weeks with Sally Field. He’s also a partner at a venture capital firm, a principal owner of a real estate development company, and a board member for GoKidGo, a podcast company focused on content for kids.
Anderson discusses with Chachi his multitude of business ventures and how he identifies and cultivates success in talented people and businesses. His sit-down with Chachi, Anderson shares compelling stories from his life and career, including:
- Going to law school and working for the DOJ before representing media and tech companies in Seattle
- How a chance encounter with Bob Rivers led him to working with radio talent
- Finding talented radio personalities and turning them into symbiotic partnerships
- Forming a bond with the late Bob Saget
- Producing the movie Two Weeks and his experience working on a film
- His role as Chief Strategist with Workhouse Creative and working on the award-winning Microsoft Beautiful Web campaign
- Pivoting to podcast production and the ingredients for a great podcast
- His current ventures including Atlas St. Ventures, which invests in hemp products and the real estate firm, Bauhaus Partners
- The philanthropic work he is involved in such as Gokidgo which creates children’s content and the Shaufler Prize which he created to award journalistic content focusing on marginalized people
- And more!
Chachi’s second guest, Peter Smyth, is recognized as a visionary and thought leader in the radio broadcasting industry. He most recently served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Greater Media, Inc., one of the nation’s leading broadcasting companies. In this role, Smyth oversaw the operational efforts of 21 AM and FM radio stations in Boston, Charlotte, Detroit, Philadelphia, and New Jersey; a group of weekly newspapers in central New Jersey; and several telecommunications towers throughout the United States. Smyth helped to revolutionize the broadcasting industry by advocating for and adopting new technologies such as HD Radio and internet streaming, and by developing and incorporating innovative content. He was named a “Giant of American Broadcasting” by the Library of American Broadcasting in 2014. Radio Ink Magazine, a leading broadcast industry publication, in 2005 and 2011, selected Smyth as “America’s Best Broadcaster.” In addition, he has been recognized as one of Radio Ink’s “40 Most Powerful People in Radio,” ranking among the top ten. In 2007, the publication named him “Radio Executive of the Year.” An active philanthropist, Smyth is President of the One Hundred Club of Massachusetts, an organization dedicated to enhancing the welfare and safety of the families of public safety officers and firefighters. He currently serves on the Board of America Media, and Home Base, a partnership between The Boston Red Sox and Mass General Hospital. Home Base treats the invisible wounds of war, providing free care to vets who have suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to active-duty Navy Seals. Smyth was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Commerce degree from Suffolk University in Boston in 2011 and was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2017.
In the second new episode of “Chachi Loves Everybody,” Smyth shares how his background in business and passion for people brought innovation to the radio broadcasting industry and his shares his leadership advice for those in media. Special guest, Jeff Smulyan, Founder and Chairman of Emmis Communications also joins to discuss his friendship with Peter.
Topics covered include:
- Growing up in Tarrytown, NY, with a passion for radio, but being pushed towards finance by his father
- Learning many skills while working at Nestle, but turning down opportunities with them to pursue radio
- Struggling at first as an account exec at WROR in Boston before using his business acumen to secure clients
- Introducing innovative ideas after getting promoted to GSM and working with Celtics broadcasters during the Larry Bird and Magic Johnson era
- Moving back to New York at 29 to become Director of Sales at WOR and having to prove himself every day that he was worthy of leading at his young age
- Taking another job in Boston as GM and transforming WMJX from “Tragic Magic” into a highly rated station
- Becoming the COO of Greater Media and his method of ensuring stations were live and local, grounded in community, and had great personnel
- Stepping in as Chairman and CEO after the passing of his friend and mentor, John Bordes, and continuing the vision of running a family company even through the recession
- The tough decision to sell Greater Media and his philanthropic work since then with the RAB, WBUR, and the Hundred Club of Massachusetts
- And more!
The Chachi Loves Everybody podcast is available now on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Audioboom and other podcast services.
About Benztown
Benztown is a leading international audio imaging, production library, voiceover, programming, podcasting, and jingle production company with over 3,000 affiliations on six different continents. Benztown provides audio brands and radio stations of all formats with end-to-end imaging and production, making high-quality sound and world-class audio branding a reality for radio stations of all market sizes and budgets. Benztown was named to the prestigious Inc. 5000 by Inc. magazine for five consecutive years as one of America’s Fastest-Growing Privately Held Companies. With studios in Los Angeles, New York, London and Stuttgart, Benztown offers the highest quality audio imaging work parts for 23 libraries across 15 music and spoken word formats including AC, Hot AC, CHR, Country, Hip Hop and R&B, Rhythmic, Classic Hits, Rock, News/Talk, Sports, JACK, and Contemporary Christian Music. Benztown provides custom VO and imaging across all formats, including commercial VO and copywriting in partnership with Yamanair Creative. Benztown Radio Networks produces, markets, and distributes high-quality programming and services to radio stations around the world, including: The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown, The Daily Dees Show, The Todd-N-Tyler Radio Empire, Hot Mix, Sunday Night Slow Jams with R Dub!, Flashback, Top 10 Now & Then, Hey, Morton!, AudioLogger, Audio Architecture, Radio Merch Shop, The Rooster Show Prep, AmeriCountry, and Benztown Swag Bank. Benztown + McVay Media Podcast Networks produces and markets premium podcasts including: The Making of: A National Geographic Podcast, Run It Again, Hot Chicken and Cage-Free Conversation with Byron Kennedy, and Edelman Financial Engines’ Everyday Wealth. For more information, visit www.benztown.com or contact Masa Patterson at mp@benztown.com and at (818) 842-4600.
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Media Contact: Lisa Dollinger, Dollinger Strategic Communication for Benztown, 512.633.4084 or lisa@dollcomm.com.
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