#29: Joe Cermele on Fishing Media, Audience Trust, and Staying Original

In this episode, I sit down with Joe Cermele to talk about his career in fishing media, from Field & Stream and Outdoor Life to MeatEater and now building Cut & Retie as an independent show. We get into writing, storytelling, creative freedom, audience trust, sponsors, and what it actually looks like to build a media business around your own voice.Joe shares what he learned from nearly 20 years inside outdoor media, why personality-driven content has changed the industry, how hard it is to start from zero today, and why being independent gives you freedom but rarely gives you safety. We also get into AI, old fishing stories, why he hates dolphins, and why looking for Bigfoot is a respectable career path.Check us out on Podmonitor: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G1q77ZGcc4iwO87rj0tC88WJQh7YaiMB/view?usp=sharingJoin the Pieces of Impact community and subscribe for more conversations like this. 00:01 Intro and why Joe appreciated a conversation outside the fishing world00:55 Joe’s current life as an independent media creator02:16 Creative work vs. building a business04:36 How 20 years in media shaped his current path07:40 Creating your own luck in outdoor media11:51 Early adoption, blogs, video, and Hook Shots17:34 Field & Stream archives and what old fishing media can teach us19:07 Amazon trip, media trips, and international fishing logistics22:36 Moving to MeatEater and learning the business side of media25:42 Joining MeatEater right before COVID27:39 Why hunting content can be more lucrative than fishing content29:52 Why he started Cut & Retie 34:21 Building community and the platform he wishes he owned38:14 Family, privacy, and being personal without filming everything41:33 What Joe’s community actually looks like44:38 Authenticity, over-sharing, and not forcing a persona47:32 Why starting from zero today would be so difficult49:59 Independent podcast economics and sponsor volatility52:43 Protecting audience trust with brand partnerships54:55 Where fishing media is heading58:10 AI, search, and the future of outdoor writing01:03:15 The ghost striper story01:07:56 Finding Bigfoot, River Monsters, and burnout in dream jobs01:09:51 Rapid fire round01:10:25 Writer recommendation: Riverhorse Nakadate01:11:46 Best place Joe has ever fished01:12:42 How playing in bands helped his media career01:14:47 Why Joe hates dolphins01:16:39 Final wisdom: originality over competition01:17:57 Where to find Joe and Cut & Retie