Deep Dive Paul Roberts Amplifies the Voices of Orange County’s Business Ecosystem

Paul Roberts, founder and station manager of OC Talk Radio, amplifies the voices of Orange County’s business ecosystem through live podcast shows at the Cove @ UCI.

DEEP DIVE

Paul Roberts Amplifies the Voices of Orange County’s Business Ecosystem

OC TALK RADIO FOUNDER DRAWS ON HIS RADIO AND PUBLIC RELATIONS PAST TO HELP TELL LOCAL BUSINESS LEADERS’ STORIES.

In spite of the increasingly fast-paced nature of today’s media, the art of long-form storytelling still thrives in the form of books, movies, TV and, more recently, podcasts. Paul Roberts, founder and station manager of OC Talk Radio, has been in the business of storytelling for decades. Lately, he spends his days amplifying the voices of the Orange County business ecosystem by helping his clients stream and record their live podcast shows in his studio at the Cove @ UCI*, the headquarters of UCI Beall Applied Innovation.

Roberts’ roots in radio date back to his nobody else does: help tell those stories and undergraduate days working for the student- benefit not just the audience, but the people run broadcasting network at the University of involved in the show by telling their origin and Michigan. After earning a brand stories in a way degree in political science, no one else can.” Roberts moved from the Today, Roberts helps tell Midwest to California in the personal stories of search of fame and fortune. local business leaders from “I thought I was going to be [THERE WERE] VERY FEW behind the soundboard at an actor, producer or rock BUSINESS PODCASTS, OC Talk Radio. The online star,” said Roberts. VERY FEW BUSINESS radio station produces Instead, Roberts found RADIO STATIONS LEFT. 24 shows a week, each himself storytelling for SO WE THOUGHT WE’LL covering a variety of stars as an entertainment publicist at Reflections, Inc. and Stan Rosenfield Public DO WHAT NOBODY ELSE DOES: HELP TELL THOSE STORIES AND BENEFIT business topics, from marketing and branding to entrepreneurial innovation. Relations. Some of his NOT JUST THE AUDIENCE, According to Roberts, clients included CHiPs BUT THE PEOPLE different podcast shows star Lou Wagner, rock amass different audience band The Police and INVOLVED IN THE SHOW sizes. The more niche singer Johnny Mathis. [BY] TELLING THEIR shows bring in about 1,000 At one point, one of Roberts’ public relations ORIGIN AND BRAND STORIES IN A WAY listeners a month, while their more popular shows firms started to represent NO ONE ELSE CAN .” average over 40,000 per entrepreneurs such as – Paul Roberts month. Regardless, Roberts Felice and Boyd Willat, cares more about who is founders of Day Runner listening than how many. personal organizers. “This isn’t a billboard on the freeway that five “Everybody wanted to know what they did … million people drive by in the hope that five will their personal story, insights and inspiration,” remember and call you,” said Roberts. “This is said Roberts. “Suddenly, entrepreneurs were narrowcasting, not broadcasting ... I’m trying seen as another form of celebrity.” to get people that are really your customers Roberts created OC Talk Radio in 2010 as a learn more.” media experiment, drawing from his experiences working in radio and representing entrepreneurs. With the help of Roberts and OC Talk Radio, At the time, he noticed the lack of business- Applied Innovation will soon join the long-form, oriented storytelling in Orange County and took audio storytelling world with a monthly that as an opportunity to be the county’s first and podcast. The show will cover a variety of only station with a business bent. topics, ranging from startup advice to “There were very few business podcasts, very interested and coming back week after week to developments in faculty research. few business radio stations left,” said Roberts. Learn more about OC Talk Radio: “So we [at OC Talk Radio] thought we’ll do what octalkradio.biz ///

*Resource Mentioned in this Story Cove @ UCI

innovation.uci.edu/the-cove