When AI can make anything look polished, what earns an audience’s trust?

Watch episode 694 on YouTube

Can creators still build trust when AI can generate convincing voices, polished videos, personalized messages, and entire digital personalities? The harder question is what makes someone worth following when production quality becomes easier to reproduce.

In New Media Show #694, Rob Greenlee talks with Yuri Kleban, introduced as a Global Product Lead Manager in Partnerships at Google, about the human contribution to AI-assisted media. They explore originality, disclosure, storytelling, creative judgment, and the relationship between creators and audiences.

The conversation moves from Yuri’s experiment with a disclosed workplace bot to AI-assisted games, fan-created entertainment, and the practical limits of automation. Both speakers see creative opportunities, while examining permission, impersonation, workload, and the risk of handing over too much judgment. Their predictions and examples reflect the discussion, not announcements of Google or YouTube products or policies.

The central question: if AI can handle more of the production, what should the human creator remain responsible for?

Three practical takeaways

• Make the audience’s problem your starting point. Rob and Yuri return to usefulness, a distinctive point of view, and storytelling. Choose an idea that helps a specific audience before deciding which AI tools or production techniques to use.
• Keep a person accountable for the result. Review AI-assisted work for accuracy, meaning, permission, and disclosure. Yuri describes a process of generating possibilities, choosing what works, and refining it. The first output is a starting point for judgment.
• Measure the whole workload. Faster production can lead to more projects and more supervision. When testing an AI workflow, count reviewing and correcting time as well as generation time, and set a limit on how much new work you take on.

Why polish is becoming a weaker signal

Yuri recalls the effort he once put into making his own video work look polished. He argues that when tools make professional-looking production widely available, polish alone becomes less useful as evidence of a creator’s effort or originality.

That shifts attention toward the idea, the story, and the perspective behind the work. Rob connects this to human intuition: the choices a creator makes about what matters to other people. AI may help execute an idea, but the discussion keeps returning to the human who decides what is worth making and why.

For podcasters and video creators, the practical implication is to explain something clearly, bring experience to the conversation, and make editorial choices an audience can recognize. Better tools can support that work; production quality by itself does not establish credibility.

The disclosed bot that did not sound like Yuri

One of the episode’s most revealing examples comes from Yuri’s workplace. He describes building a bot that answers colleagues’ questions using his knowledge. The bot is identified as a bot, but some colleagues tell him that its responses do not sound like him.

Yuri experiments with familiar features of his own writing, including imperfect spelling and punctuation. He does not report a proven improvement in trust; he is still exploring the outcome. The example raises a useful distinction between a recognizable communication style and evidence that an answer is reliable.

An editorial suggestion: if you use an assistant to represent your expertise, make its role clear and give people a way to reach the responsible human. Familiar phrasing can make communication easier to recognize, but it should not substitute for disclosure or checking an answer.

Human, AI, and hybrid media can serve different audiences

Rob and Yuri consider a future with human-created, AI-generated, and hybrid entertainment. Yuri expects different audiences to value different experiences. Human unpredictability, personal history, and relationships may remain important even when synthetic media becomes more capable.

The conversation also challenges the idea that all AI-assisted work belongs in one category. Yuri emphasizes whether something is interesting, useful, and distinctive. Rob brings the discussion back to the purpose and experience behind the content. Their views argue for audience value, not evidence that any particular format will succeed.

Fan-created episodes need permission and clear boundaries

Could audiences create alternative endings or new episodes featuring familiar performers and fictional worlds? Rob and Yuri explore that possibility as a future creative model. Yuri’s version includes permission, clear labeling, limits set by the original participants, and compensation for the people whose work or identity is being used.

These are proposals discussed in the episode, not a claim that creators already have permission to reuse someone’s voice, likeness, or characters. The important question for a media business is who can authorize the use, what they have agreed to, and how an audience will understand what it is watching.

That distinction matters to trust. A clearly identified creative extension and an impersonation presented as the real person create very different expectations.

AI can expand creative participation

Yuri describes building a custom game with his children, combining their ideas with AI-assisted development. The example illustrates a broader theme: tools can let people try ideas they would otherwise struggle to produce, while human direction and iteration still shape the result.

He also describes asking for multiple possibilities when developing creative material, then selecting and refining them. Rob connects that approach to his experience building websites and production workflows. Both describe collaboration with tools, rather than a finished creative product emerging without review.

The productivity paradox: faster tools, more work

Rob’s experience with AI is that it can make him busier. As production becomes easier, he takes on more projects, each of which still needs attention and decisions. Yuri suggests that people may need time to develop healthier limits around tools that keep expanding what feels possible.

For an independent creator, more output is not automatically a better business outcome. A workflow can save time on one task while adding review, coordination, or maintenance elsewhere. The episode invites creators to decide what they want to do with the saved time before filling it with another project.

Optimism with room for disagreement

Yuri is optimistic about wider access to creative tools, but he also acknowledges fears about work, misuse, and impersonation. He describes fraudulent attempts to use a copied voice as an example of how the technology can erode trust.

Rob and Yuri discuss possible futures for employment and media, without resolving how quickly those changes will arrive. They emphasize learning how the tools work, weighing benefits and risks, and keeping human responsibility central. Specific scenarios in the conversation are forecasts and thought experiments, not guaranteed outcomes.

One practical next step

Choose one small task in your next episode workflow, such as organizing research or drafting a description. Write down how long your usual process takes. Try an AI-assisted version, review it for accuracy, meaning, and appropriate disclosure, and include correction time in the comparison. Decide whether the result serves your audience better before expanding the experiment.

About Yuri Kleban

Yuri Kleban works at Google and is introduced in this episode as a Global Product Lead Manager in Partnerships. He brings experience across products, cloud, advertising, and partnerships to a discussion about AI and human creativity. The conversation includes his own experiments, observations, and predictions.

Episode transcript

Read the complete episode 694 transcript (text) · Download the timed transcript (WebVTT)

The transcript was exported from the final edited recording. Machine-generated transcription may contain errors; the audio and video are authoritative. Timed transcripts are also provided in both podcast feeds for compatible apps.

Episode resources and links

• Watch the full conversation with Yuri Kleban on YouTube
• Explore NewMediaShow.com for more creator media conversations
• Read Rob’s work on media, AI, and audience trust at RobGreenlee.com
• Explore practical trust and creator business work at TrustFactorLab.com

Related New Media Show conversations

• AI editing and human creative direction with Descript CEO Laura Burkhauser — episode 690
• Creator identity, AI, and the human premium with Jim Louderback — episode 689
• Voice, likeness, and creator identity with Anne Kavanagh — episode 684

About the host and the show

Rob Greenlee hosts New Media Show and founded Trust Factor Lab. He is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee. New Media Show explores podcasting, video, AI, audience trust, and the business of creator media.

Build an audience. Earn trust. Grow a media business.

AI disclosure

AI tools helped organize and draft these show notes from the supplied episode transcript. The summary paraphrases the conversation between human host Rob Greenlee and human guest Yuri Kleban. Practical suggestions labeled editorial are interpretations of the discussion.

The post Can Creators Still Build Trust in the AI Era? | Yuri Kleban, Google #694 first appeared on New Media Show.

Creators are businesses. What does SBA recognition actually change?

Watch episode 693 on YouTube

Creators produce content, build audiences, sell products, hire people, and take financial risks. So what changes when the federal government more clearly recognizes that work as a small business?

In New Media Show #693, Rob Greenlee talks with Avi Gandhi, Chair of Government Advocacy at the Creators Guild of America and founder of Creator Access Network, about the Small Business Administration’s October 15, 2026 guidance on qualifying creator businesses. Avi explains how the effort came together, what the NAICS 5121 classification means, and why access to capital and business support could help creators build beyond their next sponsorship.

The conversation moves from policy to the business a creator can build: original products, services, memberships, physical locations, and assets with value beyond an individual post or platform payout. Rob and Avi also explore AI, self-employment, verified professional work, and the responsibilities that come with running a business.

The central question: can clearer recognition help podcasters, YouTubers, and other creators turn audience relationships into more sustainable businesses?

Three practical takeaways

• Understand the classification before pursuing funding. NAICS 5121 is the Motion Picture and Video Industries group, with more specific six-digit codes beneath it. Qualifying creators should identify the code that matches their primary business activity for SBA program purposes. Recognition does not guarantee approval.
• Use business support as well as capital. Avi points creators toward the Guild’s free SBA 101 course and local Small Business Development Centers. Mentorship can help clarify a business model and its needs before borrowing becomes part of the plan.
• Think about what you own. Sponsorships and affiliate sales can generate income. Rob and Avi examine how creator-owned products, services, and businesses can also build lasting value from the trust an audience has already developed.

What the SBA creator classification guidance means

Avi describes the announcement as a milestone in recognizing creators as entrepreneurs. Behind a podcast, video channel, or newsletter is often a business handling production, distribution, customer acquisition, monetization, and expenses.

The SBA’s guidance places qualifying creator businesses within the existing NAICS 5121 — Motion Picture and Video Industries framework for program eligibility. That is an industry group, rather than a new six-digit code reserved exclusively for creators. The applicable six-digit classification depends on what a business principally does.

The SBA’s announcement also makes a useful distinction: creator businesses have long been eligible for support when they meet the relevant requirements. The clarification addresses uncertainty about classification. It does not mean every creator automatically qualifies for a loan or government contract.

Financing, contracting, and mentorship

Rob and Avi discuss three areas where clearer recognition can matter: SBA-backed lending, federal contracting opportunities, and small business counseling. A creator might need capital for production equipment, product development, inventory, or a physical space. Whether financing is available depends on the business, the use of funds, the lender, and the program’s requirements.

SBA-backed financing is borrowing that must be repaid. For example, the SBA’s 7(a) program requires creditworthiness and a reasonable ability to repay, and applications go through participating lenders. The SBA guarantee supports the lender; it does not remove the borrower’s obligations.

Contracting is another potential path where a creator’s services fit an agency’s needs and applicable requirements. Avi presents that as an opportunity to develop, rather than a promise of immediate work. For creators who first need help understanding their business, local mentorship and counseling may be the more useful starting point.

How creator advocacy reached Washington

Avi explains the collaborative effort behind the guidance, including the Creators Guild of America, Shira Lazar and Creators for Mental Health, industry participants, congressional offices, and the SBA. A recurring request from creators was recognition: a clearer place within the systems other small businesses use.

He describes two related efforts: working within an existing classification to address immediate access, and continuing to advocate for a classification that would make the creator economy easier to measure. A dedicated category, he argues, could help policymakers better understand creator employment, business activity, and economic contributions. The guidance discussed in this episode is an interim step in that broader effort.

From selling someone else’s product to building your own

One of the episode’s biggest business questions is who receives the long-term value generated by a creator’s influence. Rob brings up TikTok Shop and Whatnot as examples of content and commerce coming together. The discussion distinguishes between promoting another company’s products and building a product business a creator owns.

Avi sees access to capital as a possible catalyst for creators developing physical goods, opening retail locations, and producing in-person experiences. Those businesses require money for development, samples, inventory, rent, and operations. His larger argument is that creators can bring an existing audience relationship to a business that might otherwise need to build demand from scratch.

Rob also notes that some live sellers already make and sell their own creations. The opportunity spans several models, from an individual artist selling original work to a creator developing a repeatable product line. Each has different costs, risks, and potential value.

AI, self-employment, and the future of creator businesses

Rob and Avi consider how AI and automation could change the relationship between employment and entrepreneurship. Avi sees creators as part of a broader move toward self-employment, with content helping people sell expertise, services, products, and community access.

Rob shares his experience using AI to build websites with business processes and platform capabilities. The tools can expand what one person can produce, while still requiring skills, judgment, and a clear purpose. Both speakers connect that change to a larger question: how people can turn their experience and ideas into businesses they control.

Avi’s view is that the creator economy is increasingly becoming part of the wider economy. Founders, executives, established companies, and local businesses are all using content to reach customers. The episode explores what that convergence might mean over the next several years.

Verified work, brand deals, and professional support

Avi introduces other Creators Guild of America initiatives, including Mosaic, which he describes as a way to showcase professional work and have participating partners verify their involvement. For a creator discussing a new sponsorship, evidence of past collaborations can help establish credibility.

He also discusses the Guild’s Brand Deal Rider, designed to bring baseline protections into sponsorship negotiations, and education on business practices and disclosures. Through Creator Access Network, Avi shares interviews about creator business models and offers access to discounts on tools and professional services.

Where creators can start

Avi’s recommended first step is the Creators Guild of America’s free SBA 101 course. It explains classification, preparation for capital, loan programs, counseling, and contracting. Creators seeking financing apply through the relevant lender or program; there is no single general SBA registration that automatically unlocks every benefit.

The closing discussion covers recordkeeping, business bank accounts, legal structure, and liability. Rob and Avi acknowledge that creators are at different stages, from experimenting with content to handling sponsor commitments and meaningful revenue. An LLC is not blanket protection from liability. Business structure and financing decisions should fit the creator’s actual activities and circumstances.

A useful next step: identify the business you are building, the revenue it already produces, and the constraint you need to solve. Then decide whether education, professional support, or capital would make the most practical difference.

Video chapters

Approximate chapter times follow the supplied transcript’s minute markers. The separate audio edition may differ.

• 00:00 — Creators get SBA recognition: what actually changes?
• 01:00 — Meet Avi Gandhi and his creator industry background
• 03:00 — Why recognition as a small business matters
• 07:00 — NAICS 5121 and SBA-backed lending
• 10:00 — Contracting opportunities and small business mentorship
• 11:00 — The Creators Guild, Mosaic, and brand deal protections
• 14:00 — The advocacy effort and the push for a dedicated creator code
• 20:00 — Measuring the creator economy
• 23:00 — Creators, customer acquisition, and the broader economy
• 27:00 — Working with Congress and the SBA
• 30:00 — Why traditional media began taking creators seriously
• 33:00 — AI, self-employment, and the future of work
• 37:00 — Capital for physical products and real-world businesses
• 40:00 — TikTok Shop, Whatnot, and creator-owned business value
• 45:00 — Creator education and Creator Access Network
• 47:00 — Finding SBA 101 and local business support
• 52:00 — Choosing resources that fit your creator business
• 55:00 — Recordkeeping, business structure, and liability
• 59:00 — Resources, final thoughts, and audience comments

About Avi Gandhi

Avi Gandhi is Chair of Government Advocacy at the Creators Guild of America and founder of Creator Access Network. His experience spans creator representation, production, partnerships, and platforms, including WME, Wheelhouse, and Patreon. In this conversation, he brings both an advocate’s perspective and his own experience running a creator business.

Guest resources and links

• Creators Guild of America
• Free SBA 101 course for creators
• Creator Access Network
• Avi’s creator business newsletter
• SBA announcement: creator classification guidance
• SBA 7(a) loan information and eligibility
• Watch episode 693 on YouTube

Related New Media Show conversations

• Video podcast production and building a sustainable show with Gotham Production Studios — episode 692
• How AI is changing the creator workflow with Descript CEO Laura Burkhauser — episode 690
• Building a creator media company with Roberto Blake — episode 687

About the host and the show

Rob Greenlee hosts New Media Show and founded Trust Factor Lab. He is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee. New Media Show explores podcasting, video, AI, audience trust, and the business of creator media.

Build an audience. Earn trust. Grow a media business.

AI disclosure

AI tools helped organize and draft these show notes from the episode transcript, with SBA and guest resource links checked against their published sources. The summary paraphrases the conversation between human host Rob Greenlee and human guest Avi Gandhi.

The post Creators Get SBA Classification. Now What? | Avi Gandhi, Creators Guild #693 first appeared on New Media Show.

Video podcast production at Gotham Production Studios

In New Media Show #692, Rob Greenlee takes the conversation into Gotham Production Studios in New York City for an in-person discussion with co-founders Brianna Peters and Matt Peters about the changing business of video podcast production.

From a quick studio tour to a conversation about cameras, content strategy, AI, and audience relationships, this episode explores what it takes to create a show people keep coming back to.

The key question: how can creators improve video production quality, build a sustainable business, and preserve the human connection that makes podcasting valuable?

Three practical takeaways

• Build an audience: give a strong show a clear path to discovery. Matt describes using refreshed thumbnails, clips, guest appearances, and show websites to help people find and return to the full conversation.
• Earn trust: use professional production to support a recognizable human voice. Rob, Brianna, and Matt discuss authenticity, staged content, and why in-person experiences could become more valuable as AI-generated media expands.
• Grow a media business: match production decisions to your purpose, audience, resources, and goals. A corporate marketing show, an independent creator business, and a hobby podcast need different levels of investment and support.

Identify the biggest constraint on your next episode: the content, sound, lighting, editing time, or discovery. Choose one improvement you can sustain, define the result you want, and review what changes over your next four episodes. This editorial exercise draws on the discussion.

From an audio hobby to a video production business

Gotham began in 2017 with a practical problem: Matt needed a better place to record his own podcast. What started as an audio recording space grew into a service business as clients asked for help producing their shows. Brianna and Matt explain how an early webcam setup evolved into multicamera studios, with a more substantial video investment in 2019 and a shift toward brands and professional creators after the pandemic.

That change reached beyond cameras. Lighting, furniture, set design, and the in-room experience became part of the production offering. Matt explains why Gotham increasingly refers to its clients’ productions as shows and encourages businesses to consider them as part of a broader marketing strategy.

Better production, realistic budgets, and room for independent creators

Matt describes Gotham’s usual three-camera approach and why some visual effects are more practical to create in post-production than with additional camera operators. The discussion also examines the pressure created by celebrity shows and television-scale expectations. Matt worries that expensive productions can discourage people from starting; Brianna emphasizes that a strong concept and audience connection can still stand out on a smaller budget.

For creators, the question becomes how much production serves the show. Rob and his guests explore the balance between polish, accessibility, and the natural conversation that audiences associate with podcasting.

Custom sets and the next studio experience

Brianna and Matt explain the challenge of giving each show a distinctive look inside a shared studio. Small branding elements can work within existing rooms, while dedicated sets require more space and planning. They describe past custom productions and their plans for a future location with more flexible sets and space for live recordings, ticketed events, and brand activations. These are plans for Gotham’s next phase.

Strategy that fits the creator

Brianna shares her coaching approach: cut the noise from generic advice, clarify why someone is creating a show, and build actionable steps around that person’s goals. The conversation challenges the idea that one workbook, formula, or celebrity example can provide the right plan for every creator.

Matt explains Gotham’s internal approach to assessing a show and finding manageable improvements. Thumbnails, clips, websites, guest selection, and appearances on other podcasts can all play a role. Drawing on his work with Greg Fitzsimmons’ Fitzdog Radio and Sunday Papers, he describes refreshing the packaging and discovery strategy while keeping the host’s established voice.

AI and the value of being in the room

Brianna describes using AI to support operations, marketing, discoverability, and editing. She also predicts that uncertainty about synthetic and staged media could increase demand for tangible, in-person experiences. Rob connects that possibility to audience trust and the value of direct human interaction.

The discussion considers how creators can use new tools while maintaining their judgment and identity. For Gotham, that includes exploring a studio environment where recording, community, and live experiences can happen in the same place.

Solo creators, direct relationships, and sustainable support

Can one person still do it all? Matt believes there is still room for creators working with a microphone and webcam, while suggesting that outside help can relieve production bottlenecks when resources allow. Rob reflects on running New Media Show himself to understand the tools and workflows shaping the industry.

The conversation closes with the value of smaller, engaged audiences, newsletters, memberships, merchandise, and direct support. Rob and Matt also discuss their concerns about ad skipping and how AI might affect advertising models. Their broader point is to consider the relationship a show creates, alongside its reach and production quality.

Video chapters

Approximate chapter times follow the supplied video transcript’s minute markers. The separate audio edition may differ.

• 00:00 — Inside Gotham Production Studios
• 01:00 — What does a video podcast need to compete?
• 04:00 — Meet Brianna and Matt: how Gotham began
• 09:00 — Video-first clients, lighting, and set design
• 12:00 — From hobby podcasts to professional shows
• 14:00 — Multicamera production and editing decisions
• 20:00 — Branding a show inside a shared studio
• 24:00 — Flexible sets and plans for live events
• 26:00 — Television expectations and production budgets
• 32:00 — Content, coaching, and realistic creator goals
• 36:00 — AI and the future of in-person experiences
• 39:00 — AI-assisted workflows and staged content
• 42:00 — Thumbnails, clips, and audience discovery
• 45:00 — Studio rental, creative support, and show refreshes
• 49:00 — The Gotham system and content across formats
• 51:00 — Can solo creators still do it all?
• 55:00 — Direct audience relationships and smaller communities
• 58:00 — Newsletters, memberships, and audience support
• 59:00 — Ad skipping, AI, and monetization questions
• 1:01:00 — Connecting with Gotham and closing thoughts

Guest resources

Brianna Peters and Matt Peters are the co-founders of Gotham Production Studios in New York City. Brianna discusses strategy, coaching, client relationships, and business development; Matt shares his perspective on production, storytelling, editing, and show growth.

• Gotham Production Studios: explore studio options, inquire about production support, or arrange a tour.

Related New Media Show conversations

• Video podcasting costs and creator revenue with Losh Moodaley — episode 691
• Building a creator media company with Roberto Blake — episode 687

About the host and the show

Rob Greenlee hosts New Media Show and founded Trust Factor Lab. He is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee. New Media Show explores podcasting, video, AI, audience trust, and the business of creator media.

Build an audience. Earn trust. Grow a media business.

AI disclosure

AI tools helped organize and draft these show notes from the supplied episode transcript. The summary paraphrases the recorded conversation. The conversation features human host Rob Greenlee and human guests Brianna Peters and Matt Peters. The transcript also identifies an AI-generated voice introduction.

The post What Does a Video Podcast Need to Compete? At Gotham Production Studios in NYC | #692 first appeared on New Media Show.

Show notes

In New Media Show #691, Rob Greenlee and podcast sponsorship strategist Losh Moodaley examine a practical question: when does the cost of video serve the creator’s business? Their conversation connects production economics, audience relationships, sponsorships and human creativity in an AI-driven media environment.

Three practical takeaways

• Build an audience: connect platform discovery to a direct relationship. Rob and Losh discuss newsletters, websites and subscriptions as ways to reduce dependence on one distribution platform.
• Earn trust: make relevance and human connection part of the experience. Their discussion of sponsorships considers how a useful integration can serve the audience, rather than simply increasing the number of ads.
• Grow a media business: evaluate video against a defined goal and its full cost. Losh suggests considering customer acquisition and business value alongside advertising revenue and download counts.

Try this: Add up the time and money behind one episode. Choose the outcome it should support—such as a qualified inquiry, a subscription or a useful audience response—and track the available evidence over a defined period. Compare that evidence with the cost before expanding production. This is an editorial exercise, not a prediction of revenue or growth.

Who benefits from the move to video?

Losh’s article, The Price of Visibility: The Hidden Economics of Podcast Video, frames the discussion. Video can introduce a show to new people, but equipment, editing, lighting and publishing work add costs. More viewing time does not automatically produce a sustainable business for the creator.

Rob and Losh discuss changing viewing habits and the distinction between discovery, attention and commercial value. Their views on platform incentives and the future of distribution are interpretations and predictions expressed in the conversation.

Evaluate the investment around your business

Losh argues that the right decision depends on the purpose of the show. A hobby, an advertising-supported podcast and a show that supports consulting or product sales have different economics. She suggests looking at video as a possible customer-acquisition and marketing investment, rather than relying on one measure such as CPM or downloads.

The useful test is what happens after someone discovers the content. A new viewer might become a subscriber, customer, community participant or professional contact. Those outcomes need evidence; they cannot be inferred from views alone.

Build relationships and retain control

Rob and Losh discuss using websites, newsletters, subscriptions and communities to maintain direct audience relationships. They also emphasize the value of intellectual property and the risks of relying entirely on another company’s distribution rules.

The conversation considers direct brand relationships, memberships, services and experiences alongside conventional advertising. Losh questions generic sponsor integrations and discusses approaches that create a useful audience experience. These are opportunities to evaluate, not evidence of a particular show’s revenue.

Community, commerce and the audience experience

Rob describes his observations of Whatnot, including live sales, audience participation and collaborations between creators. He and Losh explore how elements of that experience might apply to other media businesses.

They also consider where the model may not fit. Some visual content loses meaning when heard without a screen. Rob explains why he has sometimes edited audio and video separately, and questions whether a single production approach serves every audience.

Measurement, AI and the human connection

The discussion moves from what audiences call a podcast to how creators evaluate attention and business outcomes. Rob speculates that AI might eventually help reconcile fragmented metrics. This is a prediction, not a claim that a reliable unified measurement system already exists.

Rob and Losh distinguish human-created work, AI-assisted human work and fully synthetic media. They explore the possibilities for new characters and experiences while returning to human connection, judgment and responsibility. Their forecasts about synthetic media should be understood as opinions about possible developments.

Build for your audience and your own goals

Losh’s closing advice emphasizes consistency, a suitable niche, understanding the audience and considering business models beyond standard advertising. Rob argues for testing whether a workflow and idea are sustainable before making a larger investment.

The central editorial takeaway is to assess what video contributes to the creator’s goals, rather than treating platform visibility as an end in itself.

Video chapters

Choose a chapter to jump within the video player. These timings follow the edited video; the separate audio edition may differ.

1. 00:00 — Who profits from video?
2. 02:14 — Meet Losh Moodaley
3. 06:22 — Demand for video and changing consumption
4. 14:19 — Production costs and revenue pressure
5. 15:13 — Video as customer acquisition
6. 20:33 — Audience relationships and ownership
7. 28:20 — HLS and distribution predictions
8. 32:54 — Host reads and sponsor integration
9. 35:47 — Direct audience support
10. 38:19 — Live commerce and creator collaboration
11. 43:08 — Different audio and video experiences
12. 50:32 — Podcast definitions and measurement
13. 53:48 — The human trust layer
14. 55:47 — Human, AI-assisted and synthetic content
15. 1:05:32 — Creative possibility and responsibility
16. 1:10:24 — Creator purpose and business goals
17. 1:14:36 — Advice for new creators
18. 1:16:59 — Connect with Losh

Guest resources

Losh Moodaley is a podcast sponsorship and brand-partnerships strategist.

• Losh Moodaley on LinkedIn
• The Price of Visibility: The Hidden Economics of Podcast Video
• Beyond the CPM

About the host and the show

Rob Greenlee hosts New Media Show and founded Trust Factor Lab. He is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee. Explore the episode library and episode newsletter.

AI disclosure

AI tools assisted with transcription, organization and editing of these show notes. The summary paraphrases the recorded conversation; the “Try this” exercise is an editorial suggestion. The episode features human host Rob Greenlee and human guest Losh Moodaley.

The post Who Profits From Video? The Real Cost of Video Podcasting | #691 first appeared on New Media Show.

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Show notes

In New Media Show #690, Rob Greenlee talks with Laura Burkhauser, CEO of Descript, about AI editing, creative direction and the decisions that make a creator’s work distinctive. The conversation asks what becomes more valuable about human judgment as production tools become more capable.

Three practical takeaways

• Build an audience: give people a recognizable perspective and a useful story. More effects or faster output do not, by themselves, give an audience a reason to return.
• Earn trust: review an automated edit for meaning and context. Laura argues that thoughtful editing can clarify a conversation; preserving authenticity still requires human decisions.
• Grow a media business: choose production work that supports the audience and business you want to build. The discussion considers community support, relevant sponsors and media that helps a professional demonstrate expertise.

Try this: Choose one repetitive editing task for AI assistance. Write down the intended story, compare the automated result with the original, and record the time saved and corrections needed before publishing. This is an editorial exercise informed by the conversation, not a promise of a particular result.

Editing as craft, and editing as a production task

Laura distinguishes between creators whose art is editing and creators whose primary art is storytelling. An experienced editor may want precise control over individual choices. A storyteller may want help removing the technical obstacles between an idea and an audience. Those needs call for different workflows.

Rob and Laura explore the shift toward directing AI tools. A useful prompt depends on knowing the intended result, communicating it clearly and judging what the tool produces. Laura’s point is that a creator’s perspective remains important even when the technical work becomes easier.

Reduce tool friction while keeping human judgment

Laura describes an approach that reduces repetitive production work while leaving the creator responsible for the vision and story. Rob connects that to his experience assembling radio programs manually and using newer editing tools.

The discussion also considers the expectations AI companies create. Claims about effortless production can overlook the creative decisions that still need attention. The practical question is which work should be automated and which choices deserve deliberate human review.

Authenticity depends on the choices behind the edit

Rob asks whether an unedited recording is necessarily more authentic than an edited conversation. Laura argues that editing can make meaning easier to understand. A close-up or reaction shot can clarify an emotional moment, provided it serves the conversation rather than changing its meaning.

They also discuss the tension between being authentic and performing authenticity online. Laura emphasizes a recognizable human presence and engagement with a community. Rob relates this to his work with Trust Factor Lab and the importance of human connection as synthetic media becomes more common.

Start creating, then learn what the business needs

Laura was a Descript customer before joining the company. Producing a podcast with a friend helped her discover that she could create and share work without first mastering a complicated production process. Her advice in the conversation is to start recording, editing and learning.

Rob and Laura question whether pressure to monetize immediately can discourage experimentation. They distinguish media sold as a product from media that supports another business, such as consulting, coaching or a founder-led company. They also consider community support and sponsorships relevant to a specific audience. These are possible models, not guaranteed outcomes.

Algorithms, attention and the next creator workflow

Laura explains her preference for intentional viewing, including turning off YouTube recommendations. Rob describes using both subscriptions and discovery. Their discussion asks what personalization systems optimize for and whether engagement alone captures a useful human outcome.

In the closing discussion, Laura outlines a direction for Descript beyond individual editing tasks: helping creators develop subject areas, build a useful content library, distribute work and learn from it. These comments describe her perspective on future development at the time of the recording, not a list of features independently verified as available today.

Video chapters

Choose a chapter to jump within the video player. These timings follow the edited video; the separate audio edition may differ.

1. 00:00 — AI workflows and the human creator
2. 03:47 — Is editing becoming directing?
3. 08:15 — Communicating a creative vision
4. 13:44 — Reducing tool friction
5. 16:46 — Authenticity and thoughtful editing
6. 26:49 — Laura's experience as a creator
7. 30:01 — Creating before expecting revenue
8. 35:33 — Community support and relevant sponsors
9. 39:35 — Intentional viewing and recommendations
10. 42:43 — Personalization and human outcomes
11. 46:22 — What comes next for Descript

Guest resources

Laura Burkhauser is the guest and Descript CEO in this episode.

• Descript
• Descript Underlord
• Laura Burkhauser on the Descript blog

About the host and the show

Rob Greenlee hosts New Media Show and founded Trust Factor Lab. He is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee. Find more conversations in the episode library or receive the episode newsletter.

AI disclosure

AI tools assisted with transcription, organization and editing of these show notes. The summary paraphrases the recorded conversation; the “Try this” exercise is an editorial suggestion. The episode features human host Rob Greenlee and human guest Laura Burkhauser.

The post How AI Is Changing the Creator Workflow | Descript CEO Laura Burkhauser #690 first appeared on New Media Show.

In New Media Show #689, I’m joined by Jim Louderback, publisher of Inside the Creator Economy and former CEO of VidCon and Revision3, to explore what the next phase of the creator economy means for people building media businesses.

Jim and I have lived through several shifts at the intersection of media and technology. This conversation connects the early days of video podcasting with today’s AI tools, changing audience habits, and the search for a lasting creator business. More ways to create and distribute content bring opportunity, but they also raise questions about attention, ownership, and trust.

Digital Jim and the Human Premium

We start with Digital Jim, the AI version of Jim that turns his human-written newsletter into short videos.

Jim explains how the team at Popcorn uses his words, an AI voice, and a visual avatar to help him reach audiences on LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts. He still writes the newsletter and reviews the videos before sharing them.

That experiment leads to one of the episode’s central ideas: the human premium.

Jim’s hypothesis is that, as audiences encounter more AI-generated media, they may place greater value on recognizable human voices, imperfect conversations, and experiences with real people. We discuss what that could mean for audience relationships, advertising, and in-person events.

Podcasting in a Bigger Creator Economy

We revisit Revision3, Diggnation, and the early use of short clips to introduce people to longer shows. Video podcasting and distributing a conversation in several formats have a longer history than today’s debate sometimes acknowledges.

Jim describes an audio-plus approach: people can listen when that suits them, while video creates another way to discover and experience a show. We also discuss why creators spread their work across platforms, how short-form awareness differs from monetization, and the risks of depending on one platform’s rules.

Could Personalized AI Media Disrupt YouTube

Our platform conversation moves from Netflix’s interest in creator programming to a bigger question:

What could disrupt YouTube? Jim suggests that a major technological shift, rather than another similar video service, could open the door.  His audience-of-one idea goes beyond recommending existing videos. We explore the possibility of media generated specifically for an individual, along with what Jim calls robo-social relationships with AI characters that respond to and remember their users.

We debate these predictions, including how they might compete for time people currently spend with human creators.

Your Identity and Archive Have Value

We discuss the business value of a creator’s name, image, likeness, voice, and archive. I share my experience exploring Royall.ai and receiving inquiries about using past New Media Show conversations as AI training material.

That raises questions about guest permission, licensing, tracking use, and maintaining control over future uses of a creator’s work.

Jim also describes an audio watermarking approach he has encountered, while acknowledging that he has not independently established how well it works. The discussion is about taking identity and content rights seriously as new business models emerge.

Live Shopping and the Next Media Business

Jim explains what he wants readers to get from Inside the Creator Economy: timely reporting, his interpretation of the news, and ideas they can question. We talk about the differences between email subscribers, LinkedIn newsletter subscribers, and the audience numbers platforms report.

We then explore global creator markets, Whatnot, live shopping, and the role of personality and audience participation in commerce.

TBPN’s combination of a live show, a focused audience, and widely distributed clips gives us another example to examine. We close with local AI tools and a practical encouragement from Jim: keep experimenting.

My key takeaways:

Use these tools to expand what you can create, while giving people a reason to connect with you. Your ideas, judgment, and relationships shape the value of the media business you build.

Key topics

• How Digital Jim turns a human-written newsletter into AI video
• The human premium and the value of real audience relationships
• Video podcasting’s history and an audio-plus approach
• Multi-platform distribution, short clips, and platform dependence
• Netflix, YouTube, and media generated for an audience of one
• Robo-social relationships and competition for audience attention
• Creator identity, archive licensing, AI training, and permission
• Newsletter measurement, global creator markets, and live shopping
• Whatnot, TBPN, and building a focused media business
• Local AI tools, creative judgment, and continued experimentation

Chapter timestamps

• 00:00 Welcome to New Media Show 689, and the creator reset
• 01:00 Meet Jim Louderback and watch Digital Jim
• 03:00 How Popcorn produces Jim’s AI newsletter videos
• 06:00 Bringing podcasting and the creator economy together
• 10:00 Audio plus video and reaching audiences in more formats
• 13:00 Multi-platform distribution and creator business risk
• 17:00 The human premium in an AI media world
• 24:00 Younger creators and the changing meaning of podcasting
• 27:00 AI visuals and turning audio into video experiences
• 30:00 Netflix and the value of creator programming
• 32:00 What could disrupt YouTube
• 34:00 Personalized media and the audience of one
• 37:00 Robo-social relationships and AI companions
• 43:00 Human creativity and the limits of average content
• 44:00 Royall.ai and capturing a creator’s digital identity
• 47:00 Archive licensing, AI training data, and guest permission
• 49:00 Watermarking, content control, and future use
• 53:00 Inside the Creator Economy and newsletter measurement
• 57:00 Global creator markets and live shopping
• 58:00 Whatnot, collectibles, and audience participation
• 01:02:00 TBPN, live shows, and the power of distributed clips
• 01:06:00 AI platforms, local models, and new media tools
• 01:08:00 Keep experimenting and closing thoughts

Guest Jim Louderback

Jim Louderback publishes the weekly Inside the Creator Economy newsletter and produces, curates, and moderates creator events around the world. He is the former CEO of VidCon and Revision3, and his career also includes leadership and editorial roles at Discovery Digital Networks, TechTV, and PC Magazine.

• Jim Louderback: https://louderback.com/
• About Jim: https://louderback.com/about/
• Inside the Creator Economy archive: https://louderback.com/blog/
• Subscribe to Inside the Creator Economy: https://louderback.com/subscribe-to-my-weekly-newsletter/

Host Rob Greenlee

Rob Greenlee is the founder of Trust Factor Lab, host of New Media Show, and a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee and Chair. His work connects podcasting, video, creator platforms, audience trust, and the media business.

• New Media Show: https://newmediashow.com/
• New Media Show on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheNewMediaShow
• Rob Greenlee: https://robgreenlee.com/
• Rob Greenlee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgreenlee
• Podcast Hall of Fame: https://podcasthall.com/
• Adore Network Audio: https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-audio
• Adore Network Video: https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-video
• Apple Podcasts Audio: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-audio/id392545649
• Apple Podcasts Video: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-video/id392545647

AI disclosure

AI tools helped organize and draft these show notes from the completed Episode #689 transcript and edited the full show. Rob Greenlee retains editorial responsibility. The New Media Show is human-hosted with human guests; this episode also includes a disclosed AI-generated Digital Jim video demonstration.

The post The Creator Reset: AI, Trust and What Comes Next | Jim Louderback #689 first appeared on New Media Show.

Your podcast can be available everywhere and still be hard to find. So who controls its future: the creator, the audience, or the platform?

In New Media Show #688, Rob Greenlee welcomes back James Cridland, Editor of Podnews, co-host of the Podnews Weekly Review, and a 2026 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee, for a conversation about what Podcast Week in New York City revealed about our industry.

We compare notes on the IAB Podcast Upfronts, CreatorFronts, and a very different NYC Podcast Movement. James also shares his experience at the Sounds Profitable Business Summit.

The week had plenty of energy, but it also exposed real differences in how creators, platforms, and advertisers see podcasting’s future.

Podcast Movement’s Terminal 5 venue brought challenges around meetings, exhibitor space, and crowding.

James argues that the headphone-based sessions worked better than expected. We also reflect on Tom Webster’s tribute to Todd Cochrane and why the industry still needs people willing to speak up when something is wrong.

Podcasting has expanded its distribution. That doesn’t mean it controls where people discover shows.

Sounds Profitable: Tom Webster’s presentation leads us into YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix, where podcasts compete with much more than other podcasts. James Cridland also cautions against confusing whether someone has ever used a platform with where they regularly listen.

A major part of our conversation is measuring media consumption.

James challenges the IAB’s approach to audio and video, while making another important point: tearing down the download without a workable replacement can undermine the business we already have.

James offers a proposal worth discussing: share advertising revenue with podcast apps that provide useful consumption data.

James argues that apps need a financial reason to invest in discovery and better listening experiences. I raise the concern about taking revenue from creators, and we explore whether growing listening could make that trade worthwhile.

Rob and James also discuss open RSS, HLS video, and Podcasting 2.0 as ways to expand access. That includes discovery built around places and local interests, along with AI production tools that help humans make better content.

Adding video should not make the audio listener a second-class audience. The conversation still needs to work when someone cannot see the screen.

The question is how we keep podcasting open to a wide range of voices while competing in a much bigger media world. More reach matters. So do audience trust, creator choice, and a business that can sustain the work.

Key Topics

– Podcast Week NYC: the business summit, upfronts, CreatorFronts, and Podcast Movement
– Remembering Todd Cochrane and the value of speaking up
– Platform discovery versus open podcast distribution
– Audio and video measurement, advertiser trust, and the download
– James’s proposal to share revenue with podcast apps
– Netflix, YouTube, and rising video production expectations
– Open RSS, HLS, and location-based podcast discovery
– AI production assistance and respecting the audio listener

Guest: James Cridland

Editor of Podnews, co-host of the Podnews Weekly Review, and 2026 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee.

– Podnews Daily Newsletter and Podcast: https://podnews.net
– Podnews Weekly Review: https://weekly.podnews.net

Host: Rob Greenlee

– New Media Show on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TheNewMediaShow
– Rob Greenlee: https://robgreenlee.com
– Rob Greenlee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgreenlee
– Podcast Hall of Fame Inductee & Chair: https://podcasthall.com
– New Media Show: https://NewMediaShow.com
– Adore Network Audio: https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-audio
– Adore Network Video: https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-video
– Apple Podcasts Audio: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-audio/id392545649
– Apple Podcasts Video: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-video/id392545647

AI Disclosure

AI tools helped organize and draft these show notes from the completed Episode #688 transcript, and I hand-edited for clarity and accuracy. The conversation and perspectives are human-led, and Rob Greenlee retains editorial responsibility. The New Media Show is human-hosted with human guests.

The post Podcasting’s Identity Crisis: Who Controls Podcasts Now? | James Cridland #688 first appeared on New Media Show.

Getting views, streams, and downloads is not the same as building a business. Subscribers aren’t automatically customers, and a successful YouTube channel doesn’t necessarily mean you have built something sustainable.

In New Media Show #687, Podcast Hall of Famer Rob Greenlee talks with Creator, Educator, Author, and Entrepreneur Roberto Blake, founder of Awesome Creator Academy, about what comes after becoming a content creator and why more creators need to think of themselves as independent media companies rather than defining themselves by one format or platform.

Roberto argues that being a podcaster, YouTuber, streamer, or blogger is increasingly just a distribution choice. The bigger issue is the value you create, the audience relationship you build, and what you actually own.

We get into the shift from audio-first thinking to broader creator media, why professionalism is more about preparation and performance than polished production, and how AI is changing the economics of being a creator.

Roberto sees some of the strongest uses of AI in the operational work around content, including research, data analysis, transcription, organization, editing workflows, and other tasks that can free creators to spend more time on judgment, ideas, and relationships.

A major part of the conversation is about turning attention into a real business.

Roberto describes his framework as “reach, reputation, revenue,” or in a business context, “traffic, trust, transaction.” Getting attention is only the beginning. The real value comes from earning trust and then creating products, services, memberships, intellectual property, or other business models around that relationship.

We also talk about what creators should own. That includes their brand, intellectual property, expertise, direct audience relationships, and the parts of the business that can survive changes at YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or any other platform.

Roberto breaks creator businesses into three broad paths: entertainer, lifestyle brand, and thought leader, with different revenue and growth opportunities for each.

The conversation goes much deeper into AI, human creativity, likeness rights, AI labeling, and synthetic AI media.

Why Roberto believes the bigger risk isn’t simply AI-generated entertainment, but the potential misuse of synthetic media by institutions or people trying to manipulate audiences.

The larger point is simple:

Creators should stop thinking only about the next piece of content and start thinking about what they are building around it.

Key Topics:
– Moving from content creator to independent media company
– Why podcasting, YouTube, and streaming are becoming distribution choices
– Audio-first versus audio-only thinking
– Professionalism versus production polish
– Using AI for creator operations, research, editing, and workflow
– Reach, reputation, and revenue
– Traffic, trust, and transaction
– Building direct audience relationships
– Owning your brand, expertise, and intellectual property
– Entertainer, lifestyle brand, and thought-leader business models
– Building revenue beyond platform advertising
– Why taste and personality may become more important as AI lowers the skill barrier
– Human authenticity and real-world connection
– AI likeness, voice cloning, and long-term IP value
– AI labeling and the risks of treating every use of AI the same way
– Awesome Creator Academy and Roberto’s approach to creator growth

Guest: Roberto Blake
Creator, entrepreneur, educator, and founder of Awesome Creator Academy

Roberto Blake
https://robertoblake.com

Awesome Creator Academy
https://www.awesomecreatoracademy.com

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@robertoblake

Host: Rob Greenlee

• New Media Show on YouTube
  https://youtube.com/@TheNewMediaShow
• Rob Greenlee
  https://robgreenlee.com
• Rob Greenlee on LinkedIn
  https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgreenlee
• Podcast Hall of Fame
  https://podcasthall.com
• New Media Show
  https://NewMediaShow.com
• Adore Network Audio
  https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-audio/
• Adore Network Video
  https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-video/
• Apple Podcasts Audio
  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-audio/id392545649
• Apple Podcasts Video
  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-video/id392545647

AI Disclosure

AI tools helped organize and edit this episode and create the above show notes from the completed Episode #687 transcript. The conversation, perspectives, editorial direction, and final editing were performed, and responsibility for the episode remains human-led. The New Media Show is human-hosted.

The post Don’t Just Make Videos: Build a Creator Media Company | Roberto Blake #687 first appeared on New Media Show.

Podcast media creator publishers may already have more revenue opportunity than they realize. The challenge is not always finding more listeners. It can be understanding what inventory is actually available to sell, what to sell, whether campaigns will deliver, and where revenue is being lost.

In this episode #686 of the New Media Show, Rob Greenlee talks with Sean Howard, CEO and co-founder of Flightpath.fm, about the growing complexity behind new media podcast advertising and why better forecasting, campaign management, publisher data, and revenue optimization are becoming more important.

Sean explains how Flightpath grew out of a problem he experienced from both sides of the business. As an ad buyer, he found that publishers often did not know how much inventory they really had available. As a publisher, he saw the same problem from the other side: uncertainty about whether sold campaigns would actually deliver. Flightpath was built to bring those pieces together through traffic management, prediction, pacing, and cross-platform revenue visibility.

The conversation also gets into dynamic ad insertion and the value of the podcast back catalog. Sean argues that publishers relying too heavily on baked-in ads may be leaving significant revenue on the table because listeners keep consuming older episodes long after release.

Rob and Sean also discuss a larger issue facing content creator publishers today: platform dependence.

As podcast companies expand across multiple hosting platforms, YouTube, Spotify, video, HLS, and other distribution systems, publishers need better access to their own data and a clearer understanding of the business risk that comes with relying too heavily on any one platform.

The bigger question is whether the next stage of media and podcast revenue growth may come not only from finding more audience, but from better understanding and monetizing the audience publishers already have.

Discussion Highlights
– Hidden revenue in existing podcast inventory
– Why forecasting and campaign delivery remain difficult
– Dynamic ad insertion and back-catalog monetization
– Frequency capping, pacing, and ad performance
– Publisher ownership and access to data
– Platform risk and using multiple hosting platforms
– YouTube, Spotify, HLS, and video monetization
– AI and revenue optimization
– Flightpath’s role as a publisher intelligence and traffic management layer
– Why better data can help sales and operations make better decisions

Key Topic Timestamps:
00:00 Hidden revenue opportunities publishers may already have
01:00 Sean Howard and what Flightpath does
03:00 Why Flightpath was built around forecasting and campaign delivery
05:00 Fragmented platforms and the growing complexity of monetization
07:30 HLS, open standards, and the return of video podcasting
11:00 Audio and video advertising collide
12:30 Using publisher data to identify campaign and platform problems
15:00 Why publishers need access to their own data
17:00 Dynamic ad insertion and the untapped value of the back catalog
19:00 Spotify, YouTube, and changing control over ad inventory
21:00 Choosing a hosting platform is becoming a business risk decision
23:00 Why publishers may need to work across multiple platforms
26:00 Measuring hosting platform performance and revenue impact
27:30 Publisher autonomy and Flightpath’s platform strategy review
31:00 Forecasting, pacing, and Flightpath’s Revenue Optimizer
35:30 Where AI fits into forecasting and sales recommendations
38:00 Podcast platforms evolving into intelligence and decision systems
39:00 Using publisher data with AI and LLMs
43:00 Advertising, subscriptions, Spotify, and YouTube
44:00 Apple video, Spotify, and the HLS opportunity
46:00 Podcasting becomes a more professional media business
48:00 Why publishers need an independent intelligence layer
50:00 Who Flightpath is built for
53:00 Flightpath onboarding and supported platform integrations
55:00 Closing thoughts and where to learn more

Guest
Sean Howard
CEO and Co-Founder, Flightpath
https://flightpath.fm
https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanhoward

Host
Rob Greenlee

• Rob Greenlee Website: https://RobGreenlee.com

Listen and Watch

• New Media Show
  https://NewMediaShow.com
• Adore Network Audio
  https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-audio/
• Adore Network Video
  https://www.adorenetwork.com/show/new-media-show-video/
• Apple Podcasts Audio
  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-audio/id392545649
• Apple Podcasts Video
  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-video/id392545647

AI Disclosure

AI tools helped organize and edit this episode and create the above show notes from the completed Episode #686 transcript. The conversation, perspectives, editorial direction, and final editing were performed, and responsibility for the episode remains human-led. The New Media Show is human-hosted.

The post Hidden Revenue: What Media Publishers Are Leaving Behind | Sean Howard, Flightpath #686 first appeared on New Media Show.

One year ago today, on September 8, 2025, we lost Todd Cochrane.

Todd was my longtime co-host on the New Media Show, a podcast builder from the medium’s earliest days, and one of its strongest advocates for independent creators, open RSS, ownership, and direct connection with audiences.

Looking back on these conversations, what stands out most is how consistently Todd fought for what he believed mattered. He never forgot why podcasting was different in the first place: it removed barriers, gave creators more control, and made it possible to build real communities without asking gatekeepers for permission.

He also understood that none of it came easy. Todd often talked about “sweat equity,” doing the work, building something from the ground up, and earning an audience’s trust over time. That was who he was.

What makes this video especially difficult to watch is the ending. In what became his final New Media Show appearance, Todd signed off the way he always did, expecting there would be another episode:

“We’ll see you next time.”

I wish there had been a next time.

Todd’s voice, his ideas, and the impact he had on podcasting are still very much part of the conversation.

Remembering my friend and New Media Show co-host Todd Cochrane today.

June 4, 1964 – September 8, 2025

More remembrances of Todd Cochrane:

New Media Show: Remembering Todd Cochrane, Podcast Hall of Famer and Blubrry CEO

A special New Media Show episode with Adam Curry, Mike Dell, Rob Walch, and me remembering Todd’s life, personality, career, advocacy for independent podcasting, and his impact on the medium.

New Media Show remembrance
https://newmediashow.com/2025/09/

Podnews: Obituary: Todd Cochrane

James Cridland and I worked together on this obituary covering Todd’s life, Navy career, Geek News Central, Blubrry, open RSS advocacy, the Podcast Awards, New Media Show, and his wider impact on podcasting.

Read the Podnews obituary: 
https://podnews.net/article/todd-cochrane-obituary

Blubrry Podcasting: Blubrry Founder Todd Cochrane: In Memoriam

The company Todd founded remembered him as the heart of the Blubrry community and said it is committed to continuing his mission of supporting podcasters and independent creators.

Read Blubrry’s remembrance
https://blubrry.com/podcast-insider/2025/09/09/blubrry-founder-todd-cochrane-in-memoriam/

Geek News Central: Geek News Central Mourns the Loss of Todd Cochrane

Todd’s longtime show and publication remembered its founder, host, and driving force, as well as his impact on technology, podcasting, and the people around him.

Read the Geek News Central remembrance
https://geeknewscentral.com/2025/09/09/geek-news-central-mourns-the-loss-of-todd-cochrane/

Podcast Movement: In Memory of Todd Cochrane

Dan Franks reflected on Todd’s early support of Podcast Movement, his willingness to challenge the industry, and his commitment to independent podcasters.

Read the Podcast Movement tribute: 
https://weekly.podcastmovement.com/p/in-memory-of-todd-cochrane

Sounds Profitable: Remembering Todd Cochrane

Tom Webster shared a personal remembrance of Todd, including how Geek News Central was the first podcast he listened to nearly two decades earlier and how Todd’s belief in creators shaped both his work and his business.

Read Tom Webster’s remembrance: 
https://soundsprofitable.com/article/remembering-todd-cochrane/

Podnews Weekly Review: Remembering Todd Cochrane

James Cridland and Sam Sethi looked back on Todd’s career and included material from an earlier conversation with him about how he began podcasting in 2004 and what the medium meant to him.

Listen to the Podnews Weekly Review remembrance: 
https://weekly.podnews.net/1538779/episodes/17833228-remembering-todd-cochrane-and-apple-testing-new-chapters

PodBiz: When Independent Voices Shape an Industry: Remembering Todd Cochrane

Recorded before Todd’s passing, this conversation captures him in his own words as he discusses monetization, independent creators, audience trust, and why serving listeners has to come before chasing revenue.

Listen to the PodBiz episode
https://shows.acast.com/podbiz/episodes/remembering-todd-cochrane

podCast411: Todd Cochrane Interview from March 2005 Remastered

Rob Walch remastered his original March 2005 interview with Todd, offering a rare chance to hear Todd near the very beginning of the podcasting era.

Listen to the remastered 2005 interview
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-podcast411-learn-about-pod-27564388/episode/411-item-0022b-todd-cochrane-294330497/

podCast411: Memorial to Todd Cochrane on New Media Show

Rob Walch also shared the New Media Show memorial conversation with his podCast411 audience.

Listen to the podCast411 memorial feed drop
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-podcast411-learn-about-pod-27564388/episode/memorial-to-todd-cochrane-on-new-294330496/

Podcaster News: Remembering Site Founder Todd Cochrane

The site Todd founded remembered his drive, fearlessness, generosity, and desire to help other people succeed.

Todd Robert Cochrane obituary

Todd’s family obituary provides the personal record of his life, including his Michigan roots, 22 years of Navy service, family, technology interests, and the people he left behind.

Read Todd’s obituary: 
https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/45326462/todd-robert-cochrane

The New Media Show continues today with Todd very much a part of its foundation. The conversations have changed, the industry continues to evolve, and there are still plenty of things I know Todd and I would be debating.

I still miss having him on the other side of that conversation.

The post Remembering Todd Cochrane, One Year Later first appeared on New Media Show.

As AI makes it easier to create more content, human relationships may become more valuable, not less. 

In Episode #685 of the New Media Show, host and Podcast Hall of Famer Rob Greenlee talks with Alex Sanfilippo, founder of PodMatch and host of Podcasting Made Simple, about why relationships between hosts, guests, audiences, collaborators, and communities are becoming an increasingly important part of podcast growth.

The conversation explores podcast guesting, better host-guest matching, AI-assisted workflows, audio and video podcasting, RSS and HLS, creator-owned communities, and why direct audience relationships matter as large platforms gain more control over discovery and monetization.

Human Connection Wins

Alex built PodMatch around a simple problem: podcast hosts could find guests, but finding the “right guest” and managing all the administrative work surrounding an interview took an enormous amount of time.

The goal is to automate the work around the conversation without automating the human connection itself.

Rob and Alex discuss why great podcast conversations create relationships that can continue long after an episode is published.

Better Guests, Better Conversations

A strong podcast guest should arrive ready to lead with value, not simply promote a book, company, or product.

Rob and Alex discuss why:

– Every interview should feel different
– Guests should bring something new to each conversation
– Hosts need to listen rather than simply read questions
– Generic AI-generated pitches are easy to recognize
– Guest and show alignment matters more than volume
– Meaningful conversations are more likely to be shared

Alex also explains how PodMatch is using AI to improve host-guest alignment while reducing research and administrative work.

Audio, Video and the Changing Podcast

The conversation expands into the growing convergence between podcasting and YouTube.

Alex remains audio and RSS-focused but believes podcasting and YouTube are increasingly influencing each other. Podcasting brings depth and long-form conversation while YouTube brings visual discovery and engagement.

Rob and Alex also discuss the HLS video format, alternative enclosures, separate audio and video feeds, and why the current publishing ecosystem can still feel unnecessarily complicated for creators.

Build Relationships You Own

As major platforms change algorithms, monetization rules, and distribution policies, creators have another reason to develop direct relationships with their audiences.

Newsletters, private communities, memberships, events, collaborations, and other owned audience pathways can turn large platforms into discovery and recruiting channels rather than the entire creator business.

Alex sees this community layer becoming an increasingly important part of PodMatch.

Discussion Highlights

– Why human connection becomes more valuable as content expands
– How PodMatch matches podcast hosts and guests
– Solo, co-hosted, and interview podcast formats
– Podcasting versus YouTube content strategies
– RSS, HLS, audio and video podcast distribution
– What defines a podcast in 2026?
– Why guests should lead with value
– Creating unique conversations instead of repeating talking points
– Why generic AI podcast pitches fail
– Using AI to improve guest-host alignment
– Podcast collaborations, review swaps, and podrolls
– Building creator-owned communities
– Turning platforms into audience acquisition channels
– Why trusted relationships may be the creator’s strongest long-term asset

Chapter Markers

00:00 When content becomes unlimited, human connection becomes scarce
01:45 Introducing Alex Sanfilippo and PodMatch
03:25 Why podcast conversations matter
07:10 Guests, co-hosts, and solo podcast formats
13:05 Podcasting meets YouTube
17:00 Finding the platform where your audience lives
20:25 Audio, video, RSS, and HLS complexity
27:25 What is a podcast now?
30:05 Why podcast guests need to lead with value
33:00 Every interview should be different
35:20 Listening creates better conversations
38:15 Why unique interviews get shared
41:15 The problem with AI-generated podcast pitches
44:20 Finding real guest-show alignment
48:45 Why Alex has become more selective about guesting
50:40 Using AI for PodMatch alignment
54:35 Podcast collaborations, reviews, and podrolls
57:15 Podcast relationships become communities
58:45 Building audiences beyond rented platforms
01:03:00 Creating relationships with your true fans
01:05:15 Community and the future of PodMatch
01:06:20 Where to connect with Alex
01:07:00 Closing thoughts

About Alex Sanfilippo

Alex Sanfilippo is the founder of PodMatch, a platform that connects podcast hosts and guests while streamlining the administrative work around podcast interviews.

He also hosts Podcasting Made Simple, where he helps independent podcast hosts and guests grow their influence, audiences, and businesses.

Guest Links

• PodMatch
  https://podmatch.com
• Alex’s free podcast host and guest resources
  https://podmatch.com/free
• Podcasting Made Simple
  https://podmatch.com/episodes

About the Host

Rob Greenlee is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee, Chair of the Podcast Hall of Fame, Founder of Trust Factor Lab, and longtime new-media executive, creator, strategist, and industry leader.

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AI Disclosure

AI tools helped organize and edit this episode and create the above show notes from the completed Episode #685 transcript. The conversation, perspectives, editorial direction, and final editing and responsibility for the episode remain human-led. The New Media Show is human-hosted.

The post Human Audience Growth in the AI Era | Alex Sanfilippo #685 first appeared on New Media Show.