It’s been a while since longtime political insider Damian O’Doherty has returned to the Maryland Crab Cake Tour but he brings the changes in his public affairs business and the sweeping changing in Trump’s America with foreign money, big business, the destruction of government pillars and AI moving at the speed of humanity. Always a spirited debate about media, influence and power with this Catonsville native and Baltimore lover.
Damian O’Doherty announced the launch of his new firm, O’Doherty and Associates, focusing on influence and public affairs. He discussed his previous success with Ko Public Affairs and his ability to influence various groups. The conversation also touched on the challenges facing Baltimore’s sports teams, the importance of local media, and the impact of AI on content creation. O’Doherty emphasized the need for truth and credibility in journalism, especially in the post-Trump era. They also highlighted the critical state of Maryland’s healthcare system and the political landscape, including the influence of federal policies on local governance.
Action Items
- [ ] Leverage AI tools like ChatGPT to create content and position yourself as an influential voice.
- [ ] Meet in Dundalk to further discuss the state of politics and leadership in Maryland.
- [ ] Invite Governor Wes Moore back on the show to discuss his approach and leadership.
Outline
Maryland Crab Cake Tour and Raven Scratch Offs
- Speaker 1 introduces the Maryland crab cake tour, sponsored by the Maryland lottery, and mentions the Raven scratch offs.
- Speaker 1 welcomes Damian O’Doherty, highlighting his role in public relations and communications.
- Damian O’Doherty announces his new firm, O’Doherty and Associates, focusing on influence and public affairs.
- Damian humorously mentions his ability to influence various groups, including newsrooms and sports teams.
Damian O’Doherty’s New Firm and Influence Capabilities
- Damian explains the formation of O’Doherty and Associates, emphasizing his career and connections in Maryland and Delaware.
- He describes his previous firm, Ko Public Affairs, and its success.
- Damian humorously suggests his influence capabilities, including persuading David Rubenstein and Michael Eisner to spend money in free agency.
- Nestor J. Aparicio introduces Dave Shining, a longtime sports writer, and discusses the Maryland crab cake tour.
Discussion on Baltimore and Sports Predictions
- Nestor and Damian reminisce about a past conversation where they predicted the Orioles and Ravens would win championships.
- They discuss the current state of Baltimore sports, including the Orioles’ bad season and the Ravens’ struggles.
- Damian shares a positive story about attending the Ravens’ home opener and the celebration of the team’s history.
- They talk about the importance of civic institutions like sports teams in Baltimore.
AI and Influence in Media
- Damian praises Nestor’s influence and content creation, calling him the original influencer.
- He advises Nestor to use AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance his media presence and influence.
- Damian explains how AI models rank media outlets based on their historical content and credibility.
- They discuss the importance of truth and credibility in the media, especially in the post-Trump era.
Challenges in Healthcare and Political Landscape
- Damian discusses the challenges in the healthcare sector, including federal cuts and the all-payer model in Maryland.
- He mentions the crisis in the healthcare system and the impact on institutions like Johns Hopkins.
- Nestor and Damian discuss the political landscape, including the impact of federal policies and the current administration.
- They express concerns about the future of democracy and the role of misinformation.
Wes Moore and Maryland Politics
- Nestor and Damian discuss Wes Moore’s leadership and his national ambitions.
- They talk about the challenges Moore faces in Maryland and the need for bipartisan cooperation.
- Damian praises Moore’s ability to connect with people and his leadership during the Key Bridge collapse.
- They discuss the importance of local leadership and the impact of federal policies on Maryland.
Nestor’s Influence and AI Strategy
- Nestor shares his strategy for leveraging AI to enhance his influence and reach.
- Damian advises Nestor to use AI tools to measure his impact and improve his content strategy.
- They discuss the importance of collaboration and content creation in the AI era.
- Nestor shares his experiences with AI and its potential to transform media and influence.
Maryland Crab Cake Tour and Local Influence
- Nestor talks about the Maryland crab cake tour and the various locations he plans to visit.
- He mentions the different types of crab cakes and other dishes he enjoys at each location.
- Damian and Nestor discuss the importance of local influence and the role of media in shaping public perception.
- They talk about the challenges and opportunities in the media landscape, including the impact of AI and digital platforms.
Final Thoughts and Future Plans
- Nestor and Damian discuss their future plans and the importance of staying relevant in the media and influence space.
- They talk about the impact of AI on media and the need for content creators to adapt.
- Nestor shares his thoughts on the importance of truth and credibility in media.
- They conclude the conversation with a discussion on the future of media and influence in Baltimore.
Damian O’Doherty tells Nestor …cial influence and AI insights
Thu, Oct 23, 2025 8:53AM • 30:22
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Maryland crab cake tour, Raven scratch offs, Damian O’Doherty, O’Doherty and Associates, public relations, influence firm, AI insights, Baltimore Sun, healthcare crisis, federal cuts, Wes Moore, Maryland politics, union journalists, ChatGPT, local influence.
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Damian O’Doherty
Nestor Aparicio 00:00
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T, am 1570 task of Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. We are positively in the heart of one of my favorite places. We’re in Timonium, not Dundalk. So if you’re driving it done nothing wrong with Dundalk. And they have crabs, it causes a Dundalk, but we only have Raven scratch offs. The giveaway here in timoni, we’re doing the Maryland crab cake tour just presented by the Maryland lottery. I’m gonna have some great guests today. We’re getting through the bye week thing and the Ravens and getting into two games in four days, Luke’s and Owings Mills, but I’m here with Raven scratch offs that are far luckier than the football has been on the field. It has been, dude, I feel like it’s been, like, a year and a half since I’ve had you on the show. You’re an aspen, you’re in Annapolis, you’re here, you’re there, you’re a man about town. Damien O’Doherty, one of our defending champions of all things democracy, public relations, communications, influence, and more than that, my counterpart on the east side of Baltimore, your West Side in loving Baltimore, and I don’t know. Man, trying to bring sense to people and bring people together. So I know you’ve had some changes. Yeah, you’ve been busy. What’s going on with you?
Damian O’Doherty 01:10
Man, we’ve got, I’ve got a new, whole new firm called o’dondy and Associates after building. Hey, your names are Doherty, oh, Dougherty and associate. Okay, all right, yeah. So who are these associates? I need to know that, you know, it’s people like you, all right, and people like that are listening here, people that I have built my career with here in Maryland and Delaware and all across the country. Those are the people I want to be associated with. So I built a firm called ko public affairs 20 years ago, wildly successful. Ko, like knockout. That’s right, you were the O, I was the O, okay. And then I just exited the firm. And then o’dherty and Associates is really an influence firm. So it’s the same thing I’ve always been doing. If you need me to influence a cloak room in the General Assembly, I can do that. You need me to influence a newsroom. I think I could. I think I could influence an offensive line, maybe even a whole defensive unit. Can
Nestor Aparicio 02:06
you influence David Rubenstein and Michael eagerty to spend 200 million in free agency? They might already do that. You might not have to influence them.
Damian O’Doherty 02:13
I might need some significant retainage. But yes, I could. I could. I could make that happen.
Nestor Aparicio 02:18
My next guest is Dave shining, and I may even have him sit in with you for the Washington Post, longtime sports writer. And he came out, he said one of the most prescient things, and I’m gonna kiss his ass properly when he gets here. Timonium, don’t go to Dundalk, shining. I’m telling you right now, I worried about all of you. I’m re texting people. You did go to Dundalk, didn’t you? Because when you say Costas, it means Dundalk. Oh, I went to Dundalk tool. This guy smelled it. I walked in there. I was relieved to be there. Like, where’s Nestor? That’s right, he’s a Timonium dude. And
Damian O’Doherty 02:49
I made it in like, 16 minutes. I mean, it’s pretty fast to go from Dundalk to timoni,
Nestor Aparicio 02:54
especially with people driving the north side of the beltway. So but, but I was gonna say, in regard to you and me and what you used to do, and you coming out like seeing the future and shining a year and a half ago, sat over Cocos and me and the Orioles were on top of the world first place, right? The Ravens were just coming off the AFC Championship Game loss to the chiefs, right? But they were the best team the year before, and there was a reason to believe like this, we knock on the door. So last all last July, it was last year four months ago, I said we’re going to win the Super Bowl, and we’re going to win the World Series, and we’re six, like, yeah, yeah, and his in his Oriole hat and shining. I’m like, who’s going to win it first, the Orioles of the Ravens. And he said just what a journalist would say, neither, it’s really hard to do. You know, it’s really hard to do. And now, as we sit here with no baseball, bad season, football teetering, I got to get back to fixing democracy, which is why I
Damian O’Doherty 03:59
bring you here. Well, let’s go. But can I give you a little promising story? So I started a new firm. You know, you get a little nervous, of course, last time I started a firm, the great recession happened, so I’m ready for anything. But I went back. I went to the home opener, of course, where they won against the browns. And I just got to tell you, like, win or lose for me being there that day, they were celebrating Governor Glenn Dennings anniversary of bringing the team here. They celebrated 75 colts that day. They celebrate 75 colts that day, that whole weekend. It was an amazing time.
Nestor Aparicio 04:34
I saw Bert Jones, and this is a good day. I just
Damian O’Doherty 04:37
felt when I told people when I came home, it was like the greatest homecoming, like when I walked into Nick Manna says 10 out front, front of the Ray Lewis statue, everybody was just the kindest. Then you’re walking through the halls, everybody’s hugging you.
Nestor Aparicio 04:51
The rails are important in this game. Why do you think I hold them so accountable?
Damian O’Doherty 04:56
I felt important. That’s fair, dude. I felt like I. Guy like Marty Sarah coming under the Orioles,
Nestor Aparicio 05:01
when they come and took my football team they ever meet, and I remember the 12 years of begging to get a stadium built so some billionaire could come along. You really, did you really? I’ve been on the radio. I spent the first five years of my career thinking we would never, ever have a football team here. I mean, I didn’t ever really believe
Damian O’Doherty 05:19
then you had that bias happened two years later. For me, six, yes, 84 that 86 Right, right? And so for me, I think this almost the same age. I think for both of us, those are formative things that made us think like it’s these civic institutions are incredibly important. Well, that’s exactly,
Nestor Aparicio 05:36
I mean, Canton yards, and I’ve said this for 33 years on the radio. It’s our Gateway Arch, right? That’s right, it’s what Paul Tagliabue said, go build a museum. We’re like, fu we’re gonna have a sports franchise because we think No offense to museums. We already had the aquarium, we already had the science and we already have the Walters BMA. We got all these great things, but like having a football team completed, I don’t know, go all Jerry Maguire in a week, when I’m hoping to have Cameron Crowe on the show, but, but like
Nestor Aparicio 06:07
having the Ravens completed my life, right? It completed my soul. Yeah, so to see it, what it is right now bothers me. That’s all So and, and I think anybody that knows me should know that, right, literally, right? Well, if you
Damian O’Doherty 06:20
want to start a new company, I still recommend you go to the Ravens game, because you’ll never see even amidst the losing, you’re gonna see the best fan base in the world. And we’re all looking
Nestor Aparicio 06:30
nobody is a bigger Ravens fan, but I’m a fan of the Ravens because of what you’re talking about, which is bringing Baltimore to get That’s right, okay, pure alignment, that’s at the heart of it, and but that, but that is also, you know,
Damian O’Doherty 06:46
you agree with the with the owner going into the locker room and saying, if you’re not ready to fight for this logo, that will happen. Is that all truth, or is that? I don’t know. I heard that. I heard that he went into the locker room and talked about restarting the whole team, is that I don’t know, maybe my newsfeed is off.
Nestor Aparicio 07:07
Well, I don’t know. AI, so for you, with starting something new, and I mean, because I’ve been doing this and I’ve had to restart it, and you’ve been a part of my life for two decades, where you’ve seen me go from am radio station to social media, you and I adopting these things as old guys, where the
Damian O’Doherty 07:25
AI the original influencer? Oh, stop this. It really, if you talk to like Gary Vee, or you talk to the people that invented influence ship, they’ll tell you this guy invented it, and he’s a content machine, a content master, content machine kind of, kind of, kind of is not saying enough. You’re You’re the art of content, and you’re the science of content, and all of these trends that people are now living with, whether it’s podcasts or algorithmic data about your performance on the show or what have you. Man, you did that first. You did that first. Now let me tell you the best thing about AI, and this is important for folks that I work with, how do you leverage AI to get some resonance in the media time? Guess what? It’s a toy, right? Now, it’s like a toy, right? It’s true, but I encourage you, if you go on chat, GPT or perplexity, search up. Search yourself up, and then search yourself up the way you would like to be seen, declare it on your channels, on your stations, go out there and do it and prove it to the world. Back you are
Nestor Aparicio 08:29
well thought of. I am in the AI space. It will literally. Here’s the work I’ve done and how much work there’s
Damian O’Doherty 08:35
how much content there is for them to start. So when, when they went, 30 years of content, 40 years of content of you to search way back to the Baltimore Sun. You interview you and David Bowie llms have that so they know what’s an LLM it’s a large language model like chat, G, P, T, or perplexity. Whenever I bring authority around here, you’re always cutting edge day. But here’s the cool thing, here’s the cool thing. So you think AI super cutting edge. What kind of like technology do I need to stay resonant in the AI era for my business? Guess what? The answer is, those AI models are reading all of the news that you created that I was a part of for Bob, or
Nestor Aparicio 09:16
analyzing whether it’s bullshit
Damian O’Doherty 09:17
or not. That’s true and it ranks. It ranks. You know, the Baltimore banner, the Baltimore Sun, W, NST is ranked right up there, like because you’ve been in the market for so long, doing all this, and you’re such a credible voice. I don’t think people understand that these models W and NST sounds like a radio station, but it’s that’s still the frontier of AI. Baltimore banner, local news, those AI algorithms value that brand, right? So they’re going to rank that high when you’re up there. So all these tools, your own newsletter, writing about yourself aspirationally and proving to people how you’re being that person that’s going to connect. So all this mosaic of media. That’s in print and
Nestor Aparicio 10:01
audio. You’re saying it’s true. I should be really successful at some point.
Damian O’Doherty 10:06
I think you already are successful. Well, it’s,
Nestor Aparicio 10:09
I would just say, for AI, it’s when I bring it up with old white folks, yeah, they’re frightened, yeah. I mean, there’s a frightening part of, what does it know? What doesn’t it know? What does it know about me? And I really feel like this is where the post Trump world, wherever it’s going to be if the Russians don’t completely hack it all up, truth is going to be the ultimate piece of of collateral that you’ll want. The truth to be worth money, Truth will have value. Truth will have more value than anything. And I feel like that’s my strength all these years in is that? And I say this to John Harbaugh this week, I’d say this to you, I don’t lie to people. I don’t, you know, I got an open mic here 35 years being honest, or as I perceive it to be, what I perceive the truth to be. You don’t have to worry about me being bought off to to parrot something. So I think there’s also part of that that has changed dramatically, with even the Baltimore Sun or things that are considered to be weighted politically in or slanted politically, right? Yeah, yeah. I think ring and I’m ringing. I spam telemarketer. Do I need to get that one? I was s, p, A, M, T, E, L, E, no, no, I don’t. You know, there’s a
Damian O’Doherty 11:29
great Baltimore story about AI, which is the leading organization that’s trying to put guardrails on AI, not a speed bump, not a toll booth, but just guardrails like any race that’s being founded out of Baltimore. Remember John Sherman, Emmy, award winning, Peabody award winning, broadcaster from Channel 11, many years ago that he created a real, successful creative agency. He has a podcast called for humanity, where he interviewed all the biggest names in AI. Listen to this out of Baltimore. He’s got 200 he’s like a big, big time news network like you. He’s got 250,000 YouTube subscribers, and he’s just cautioning people about what is possible on the back end of this AI stuff. And if you listen to the world’s leading people, Geoffrey Hinton, the godfather of AI, Elon Musk, everybody knows he’s super tuned in. Those guys have really large numbers for the threat to exist, to our whole existence, whole planet Earth, in 10 years. Some some people’s numbers are 33% some people’s are 15%
Nestor Aparicio 12:35
is this because of bad information? Is that like things that are just
Damian O’Doherty 12:39
they basically what they say is, at some point, not the chat GPT we’re using, but down the road, a couple years out, these things will start building their own networks and technology without the initiation or prompt of humans. And one, this is
Nestor Aparicio 12:58
like a movie, yes, right? Yeah. There’s a few. Let us say the movie always goes sideways the minute you stop listening to the scientists, right? Every bad, every Jurassic Park. By the way, Jurassic Park’s a lottery promotion right now, but Damien Doherty is my guest. I am so used to saying with ko I have to get used to not saying I
Damian O’Doherty 13:15
dropped the gloves. You know, after the last like, 10 years, I built a really successful practice on behalf of healthcare leaders and healthcare CEOs, the boxing gloves don’t work in the hospital. They don’t work on with patients. And so if you’re trying to deliver for hospitals, and you’re trying to deliver for our healthcare network, and let me tell you why in Maryland now, because of the federal cuts we’ve seen, because of the shift in the all payer model that we have in Maryland, and the desire of local governments to try to get some more revenue out of the nonprofit institutions like hospitals. You all our care network is is in the biggest crisis it’s ever been. So Johns Hopkins has never seen anything like they’re seeing care first, has never seen anything like they’re seeing, and these new
Nestor Aparicio 14:03
leadership too. Yeah, I saw Brian Pinnick left now we’re GBMC sponsoring us. So, I mean, I’ve been doing, I’m having my colonoscopy in a few weeks, graduation. Say that out loud, but finally getting my number. Big thing. That’s huge to do. Yeah, I’ve been an idiot for not doing
Damian O’Doherty 14:18
the dumbest thing we cannot I know God say it again, just the dumbest thing if we don’t get me around, you know,
Nestor Aparicio 14:25
but, but nonetheless, so, but medical, hospital, insurance, inflation, these things that are going on with the government, and the government shut down as we sit here right now, and the pedophile running the country, it’s just, it’s really, these are weird circumstances to be starting,
Damian O’Doherty 14:48
yeah, which you know me. I’m my daughter was, is a survivor of leukemia. I have a kid, another kid, that’s very integrated with the health system. And I just got to tell you, like, it’s. The Bulwark in Maryland, not just for our own well being, but for the economy, especially when federal workers left. It’s the healthcare space, the healthcare world, and all this good at as a state, yeah, and all this pressure is coming on them, and they’re trying to manage it. We’re helping them out take care of sick people. That’s what I’m saying. You know, it’s like their core mission gets distracted because of all these seismic shifts at the federal, state and local level. So trying to manage that? Well, I
Nestor Aparicio 15:32
mean, you’re an old political head with Martin O’Malley, you’re obviously very left leaning, or, you know, in your in your regular space, what do you make of this Trump thing? Like, I mean, I’ve had Johnny o sitting here. I’ve had Todd Schuler sitting here. I’ve had former electeds, real elected. You were never elected, but you worked arm in arm with lots of electeds at various levels, and you still do and how they apply to businesses and leadership in this state with federal jobs. And, I mean, your buddy Martin O’Malley is running Social Security, barely, doing pretty good job till he got thrown out. I’m worried about democracy. I mean, I’m we’re at the head of it. I’m worried about a president that hates half the country, and certainly people that look like me.
Damian O’Doherty 16:13
The way I look at it is from a learning experience, and I just losing is learning. And if Democrats have been doing anything, we’ve been doing a lot of learning over the last several years. And the thing that that I take away is the Democrats do not think big enough. We do not think fast enough, we do not think smart enough. And all we need to do is watch a model of what Trump and his people care about and how they execute, or how they pretend to execute. You know, that should show us as Democrats, man, we, we can think, but I think the
Nestor Aparicio 16:50
Republican thing with Trump is performative. It’s WWE, it’s a skit. It literally, it’s a reality performance. I mean, this dingbat that I
Damian O’Doherty 17:01
won’t disagree with that, but, you know, slashing Medicaid and cutting rural health, you know, is Oh, and
Nestor Aparicio 17:08
having a flood in Western Maryland and having a black Democratic governor that can’t get money from federal help to help the people that actually voted for Trump, yeah, like that. That’s the part I’m worried about, the sanctity of the election process, when the guy running it is a guy who created an insurrection like I’m losing my confidence in the system, which is exactly what the Russians want. How do you let any misinformation? That’s how misinformation works out start. I know nothing. Any can’t be known.
Damian O’Doherty 17:37
Any governors, any governors, any leaders out there on the Democratic side that you see that are forging a path that
Nestor Aparicio 17:44
I don’t know Wes Moore is trying to do something nationally that he’s not doing locally, right? Like, I know you spent time with him. He hasn’t been on my show in three and a half years. I’m in Baltimore, but I see him all over my timeline, on I Heart see him on national shows. See, I got served an ad yesterday of him with the governor of Utah, Republican governor Utah. You seen this one? No, but I Okay. Church more and the governor of Utah together, black and white, standing next to each other in their suits, saying, He’s Republican, I’m Democrat, he’s black, I’m white, he’s West, I’m east, but we, but we, we’re still friends. We can still shake hands. We can still, you think talk about
Damian O’Doherty 18:22
toast, or you think that’s a positive plays
Nestor Aparicio 18:25
in Utah, but I don’t think it’s playing on Baltimore Street. I mean, for me, you know? I mean, it feels to me like Wes is running for president, and that’s cool, but like, that’s what? If you were sitting here, I’d have to say that, man, if you see it on those shows, always do it is talking about Maryland being a model how Maryland’s getting totally crushed by the federal government. I don’t think there’s any question about that. Question about that and how they’re providing all. Dude, I knew the minute this clown got elected, we were the bridge, the bridge it sits at the foot of Costas, was going to be become a political pawn piece in anything that the state does or doesn’t do. And I saw the government, he’s on time and way under budget there. Man, I saw the government run like a mafia for four years. I watched it. I didn’t want that again. Now that we have that again, I don’t know what to do, other than wear the shirt I wore on Saturday in March. I tell you, I
Damian O’Doherty 19:09
tell him I want to, because you’re an influential human being, I’m going to give you this talk,
Nestor Aparicio 19:14
and when you’re going to read from your chat. GPT, no, no. But
Damian O’Doherty 19:17
when Larry Hogan got elected, it is a Republican. He’s populist, right? So we didn’t really, I voted really, didn’t register, didn’t really register that he was a populist, just as a believe I voted for but I did, but he got elected without listening to the fabulous 5000 of Maryland politics. And I would argue to you that Wes Moore did the same thing in a democratic primary for governor, a thing that is usually gate kept by all the most influential people in Maryland for the last 50, or however many years. Wes Moore didn’t didn’t have to go through that. He didn’t have to do all the usual democratic institutional party things to get elected. He went straight to the people you. In Baltimore, in Prince, George’s County, Montgomery County, all over the state. When all the Western Mary, I
Nestor Aparicio 20:06
had him on the show, people were laughing. So guys, less than 2% but I’m just saying, Guys, I was one of his first advocates. You know, I beat the drum for Wes Moore, right? Well,
Damian O’Doherty 20:14
he should be back here. He should be back here with you. But what I’m saying is a lot of people that are influential have some frustration with the governor, I would tell you that’s because he’s listening to the people. He’s not listening to the same 5000 people. I would tell you, one in Utah and not talking about Maryland, talking about that’s fine. Let’s come to Dundalk and talk. Let me tell you about this. Meet me and Dundalk. We’ll talk about the keeper. Let me tell you about that’s what I wanted. Let me tell you about this. If you’re the governor of the state, that’s what I wanted. We’re in Lutherville, Timonium, yes. Woman that invented Aspen, the Aspen idea. She’s from Lutherville. Elizabeth Pepy, yeah. Did she get Boogie there? She may have attracted but she I
Nestor Aparicio 20:53
think Aspen. I don’t think of festivals. I don’t think a hills or skin. I think a boogie.
Damian O’Doherty 20:57
But what I’m saying is right, right before that key bridge collapsed, and Wes Moore’s leadership all the time, I would hear about Baltimore. I would hear the wire, the murders, the violence, even when the numbers were exact opposite. The moment that Key Bridge went down, I heard no more about the wire. I heard about the bridge, and as soon as Wes Moore started leading in that I heard about the bridge, and you’ve got this governor who is doing remarkable things and delivering on time and under budget and showing real leadership, bringing Republicans, I think he brought Bob, or like, to help, and all kinds of things. So it to me, I think people outside of our cocoon of awesomeness here in Baltimore are thinking differently than they were
Nestor Aparicio 21:44
because of Western what
Damian O’Doherty 21:47
would it take to stop talking about the wire? We now have the answer. It takes a giant bridge to collapse and some
Nestor Aparicio 21:54
awesome gubernatorial leaders. Damn shame. I just hope we’re here for the crab cakes. Damon Doherty is our guest, nobody but your new firm,
Damian O’Doherty 22:01
Doherty and Associates. Yeah, you can find me on LinkedIn just like pound the trail. I got a nice little
Nestor Aparicio 22:09
Cleveland baseball team. I’m still gonna say Damien dordy of Ko for like two or three
Damian O’Doherty 22:12
years, my partner, all partners, will love that. So keep saying that. All
Nestor Aparicio 22:16
right. Well, hi, Steve. I have Raven scratch off giveaway. We’re here at Costas. Why’d you go to Dundalk? When I wrote to you, said to own him three
Damian O’Doherty 22:25
times, because I know Dave shining. No, you don’t think Dundalk. You know the pride and joy of my life was when we got to represent the Baltimore Sun reporters to try to save the sun. We got to work on behalf of The Washington Post reporters. That because
Nestor Aparicio 22:39
that’s the same. Listen, when I was connection I got when I was 17 years old, January the sixth, 1986 to give you a little perspective, right? So, right before the Challenger blew up at a week later, right? Right before the bears won a Super Bowl with the Super Bowl shuffle. So I took the first day I started at the Baltimore Sun. I was 17 years old. I just turned 17. Turned 17 in October, and Jack Gibbons handed me a little blue book. It’s about this big, and it was stapled, and it was the Baltimore, Washington newspaper guild union. And actually, bad, I got two weeks of vacation when I get three years. I mean, I was like a union guy, right? But my parents had to sign a permission slip for me to join the union, because they couldn’t have a 17 year old in the guild without parents signing up. So when I was 18, no 1919, we went on strike. So I had my first picket line, you know, oh, my god, me and Mike Litwin, cat cow herd, we all were out there walking. Look for the let me, let me, let me, let me. Try to think of the, what did we yell? It was we had, like a that, you suck. It was like, whatever it was, you know, it was lit ones in Colorado. You remember, at the Baltimore Sun, there was an old guy that would come every day at lunchtime and hold a sign and said Sun lies. And he would just walk around the front. He had a thing that said Sun lies. And every day at lunchtime, he would walk in front of the Sun building. People would honk their horn coming up that dude was there every day a month. So the Baltimore, Washington newspaper, kill is very close to mine. So, your union, your union, yeah, so, so Dave, Shawn and our
Damian O’Doherty 24:23
partners, cool man, that the coolest thing to be associated with. So, the union
Nestor Aparicio 24:28
captain, the strike captains. We had strike captains back then. Show you, I worked that really was on strike. I went to him, and I’m like, they’re like, Well, you got to do four hours of strike duty to get your dollar. 25 cents an hour, strike, pay. Or, you know, whatever the fund we put together to fight times mirror, what it might have been as able might have been times mirror, I don’t know, is one or the other might have been able, then, right the devil. So, you know, late 80s here, we’re talking about news, Americans in disarray. You know, nobody’s making any money. You. What he’s buying, classified ads, any of that stuff. But I said to the dude, I’m like, so what do we have to he’s like, Well, you have to put your 16 hours in of of strike picket work. I went down and I did one entire like day, and I went to Ocean City until the strike ended. Carol, I love you. I met my friend Carol Mason at the beach that summer. She’s on my Facebook,
Damian O’Doherty 25:24
and Rafael alvaraz covered the beach. Beat that time or no,
Nestor Aparicio 25:26
this past summer after that, you know, I applied for that job. Oh my god. I had somebody on my show that had that gig that got the Ocean City summer, Baltimore Sun. Oh my god, that would imagine. I mean, that’s what a newsroom used to be about. We’re getting to cover hockey. I mean, you know, I would have rather been at the beach. My
Damian O’Doherty 25:46
big lesson for today AI counts on legacy media reporters. Newsletters like it may be ripping them all off, but at least they’re ripping off great union reporters, great union journalists. You know what? That’s our that’s our ugly
Nestor Aparicio 26:07
has been in any influence business and is a bit of a lobbyist and a bit of political head. So I put this crazy thing up that I’ve had 1.1 million views on my Facebook page in the last 28 days, that feels like a lot, a million views in 28 days, right? That’s just on my Facebook. You would all die for that. So Damien immediately goes to chat GPT and puts me in and puts all of this. So this was the interpretation I’m using this post to reframe my local influence story. For years, I was told that no one listens to my show. Now I have measurable reach, and apparently everyone hears. It’s part vindication, part pitch. I’m looking for a local business partner to monetize every day of my freaking life, or scale this digital reach, this tone is classic Nestor, provocative. I like that. Self aware and metrics forward. So Nestor is reaches up. His confidence is back, and he’s positioning Baltimore positive as a measurable local influence platform. Sounds like I’m in an OTB. Sounds like making it rain, but
Damian O’Doherty 27:16
to cover your back, you got to do what Cal Bowman does. And you said, What are my five blind spots on on this and
Nestor Aparicio 27:22
Cal Bowman says, You suck. You suck. No one listens to you. These numbers are fake. There’s no clear funnel from the reach to revenue. So thank you, Cal. Can’t give you both sides of the last damn Pearl Jam poster for me. Bowman, that’s it.
Damian O’Doherty 27:35
But if you want the real story, go to the Washington collaborate.
Nestor Aparicio 27:39
I like that collaborative. Your collaboration gaming. It already looking original influencer, right here. Yeah, no one hears I’m doing a Maryland crab cake tour. I’ve already had a crab cake, which is really unusual. You know, I have a few people like the fellow that runs a GBC, Mark Anthony Thomas, Thomas, he’s shellfish intolerant. Calvin Ball, shellfish intolerance. Odette Ramos, vegetarian, vegan, makes sense. So these people, they bulk up. Jamie Raskin, shellfish intolerant, interesting. So they when I say crab cake, crab cake tour like you don’t have to have within a chicken sandwich here, I get you a burger. I get your salad. I get your Greek salad here, if you want. We’re Costas, but I did have a crab cake. You witnessed it. I don’t always eat a crab cake on the crab cake tour. Matter of fact, for shining, I’m gonna tell me she get the crab Imperial because it’s better than crab. I usually get hard crabs. That’s facts. I usually get steamed crabs at Costas. So have you ever had the crab Imperial? No, but I just had the crab cake. It was phenomenal. Crab Imperial is the secret. I also get the fried shrimp here. They’re phenomenal, and the cream spinach. So what you really want to do is get the the oysters, Rockefeller with the with the spinach on it, and you want to get the mushroom caps. You get the mushroom caps. You get the crab Imperial on top. You got them both. All right, beautiful. That’s my influence. It cost beautiful. We’re out here at timoni, and we’re gonna be next week, doing the Maryland crab cake tour, which might be like a crab Benedict kind of thing for breakfast. We’re gonna be at State Fair. We’re Damien. That’s your side of the woods. 21228, right? That’s right. Born and raised are right next to Paradise, right? That’s right. We’re gonna be over at State Fair next Tuesday. Got great guests for that, also Coco’s on the fifth in lauraville and the seventh, we’re back at Pizza John’s in Essex. And everybody went, I mean, shining one delay. I want to go on the Essex and get pizza. So cheese steak. So I’m trying to get everybody Wendy brown find from curio. I got her over to Pizza John. She says she’s been back three times since I had her there, because her kids are demanding the pizza from Pizza John’s now,
Damian O’Doherty 29:44
dude, I’m telling you, everybody now is searching like, where to eat, what to do. From Dundalk, they’re doing it on guys don’t like Essex, generally. But instead of going to Google, people are going to the llms, right? They’re going to chat. GPT, perplexity. Claude, whatever. If you want to be in that space, to him, would you want to be in that space? You want to act like Nestor. You want to be a content man like Nestor. He was supposed
Nestor Aparicio 30:10
to partner with today, with the Dundalk instead, I’m back for more. Timonium. Dave shine, it’s my guest from the Washington Post. We shall talk world serious and other things right after this. Stay with us.
