Jim Blasingame's digital catalog – over 60,000 archived podcasts with robust metadata – has a new, permanent home at the University of North Alabama. This unprecedented gift represents almost 24 years of helping entrepreneurs succeed in a global, digital marketplace.
NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Jim Blasingame, pioneering creator of small business multimedia content, has made his significant and unique digital body of work available in perpetuity with his gift to the University of North Alabama's Sanders College of Business and Technology and Collier Library.
From 1997 to 2021, on the nationally syndicated weekday radio/Internet program he created, "The Small Business Advocate® Show," Blasingame conducted live interviews with thousands of the world's top business experts on doing business in the Digital Age, entrepreneurship in the 21st century, Main Street businesses, and the impact of government policy. Using proprietary technology, Blasingame immediately converted broadcast/simulcast interviews into archived podcasts. And now, access to this impressive digital catalog will be permanently available to students and entrepreneurs around the world at https://smallbusinessadvocate.una.edu.
"The campus community is, indeed, grateful for this wealth of information and resources from Jim's impressive and long-standing body of work," said UNA President Dr. Ken Kitts. "It will be a benefit to anyone who encounters it and who is seeking a reliable and important source for understanding small business in the global marketplace."
A 1972 graduate of UNA, Blasingame said he's honored that his digital catalog, archived with robust metadata and curated over almost a quarter-century, will continue to be useful to once and future entrepreneurs.
"It makes me very proud," Blasingame said, "to think that something I did along the way could benefit veteran and next-generation entrepreneurs. Some may be surprised at how evergreen much of my content continues to be."
PROLIFIC RECORD ON DIGITAL CONTENT AND SMALL BUSINESS
The complete gift includes Blasingame's unparalleled library of approximately 60,000 digital files with metadata (over 50 million words), representing almost 24 years of work focused on helping small businesses have the maximum opportunity to succeed in a global, digital marketplace. As an award-winning author and syndicated columnist, his donation also includes approximately 1,800 articles and 200 videos, plus four manuscripts. Blasingame is the author of four books, which sold 300,000 copies and won seven international awards.
From the first radio broadcast in 1997 until the last one in 2021, Blasingame conducted more than 1,000 live interviews each year, which were converted daily into podcast segments totaling 2,600 annually. This production resulted in a career body of work of approximately 60,000 segments, each six to eight minutes in length. Along the way, Blasingame encouraged and mentored numerous individuals new to podcasting, many of whom are still creating content today.
EARLY INNOVATOR IN DIGITAL BROADCASTING
As a result of his foresight and innovation – his first internet simulcast in January 1998 and subsequent archives predated the term "podcast" by six years – Blasingame is considered a pioneer of that genre of mass communication. As a leader in on-demand business audio content, he helped shape the evolution of podcasting, and his unique library demonstrated the power of niche-focused digital conversations years before podcasting became a mainstream medium.
By leveraging his platform in support of others, Blasingame received numerous national awards from organizations recognizing him for his leadership and contribution, such as the U.S. Small Business Administration and Chambers of Commerce.
Blasingame said his contributions to students and entrepreneurs could be in four areas: "The obvious subject matter of my comprehensive body of work; second, my career as a podcast innovator; third, what I learned about producing a long-running, live, two-hour weekday simulcast; and fourth, how to get the most out of really smart and really important people in an interview and make them want to come back."
NOTABLE RECOGNITION OF UNIQUE GIFT
Those "really smart people" came to be known as Jim Blasingame's Brain Trust® and count among them some of the biggest names in the marketplace, including Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media.
"It is right that Jim's important work of aggregating and delivering the knowledge of thousands of expert voices in support of small businesses is being preserved and will live on for the benefit of future generations. I'm proud of Jim and UNA for making this happen," Forbes noted in a letter to President Kitts.
Kevin Haslam, Vice President of Advancement and Executive Director of the UNA Foundation, has worked closely with Blasingame as part of the process and the curation of his legacy.
"It has been an honor to work with Jim on this project," Haslam said. "His body of work is impressive and will be a critical part of student success, particularly for those who are in the Sanders College. We are so grateful that he chose his alma mater to house and archive this digital content collection."
Blasingame created and built his international brand from his office studio in Florence, AL, six blocks from UNA. He was named UNA Alumni of the Year in 2006 and continues to live in Florence with his wife and business partner, Davonna Blasingame.
BRAIN TRUST MEMBERS ON BLASINGAME'S GIFT AND LEGACY
"Jim Blasingame was interviewing entrepreneurs on the airwaves since before podcasts were called podcasts."
– Ken Blanchard, coauthor, The New One Minute Manager®, Escondido, CA
"Many journalists who covered small business stood on the shoulders of Jim Blasingame."
– JJ Ramberg, Former NBC Journalist and host of Your Business, MSNBC, Los Angeles, CA
"Jim Blasingame is an American small business hero."
– Karen Kerrigan, President, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Washington, DC
"Let's establish one thing: Jim Blasingame is the 'pioneer of podcasting.' He taught me how to be a host."
– Robert L. Jolles, President, Jolles Associates, Inc., Chevy Chase, MD
"Posterity will record Jim Blasingame as a legend in his time, whose impact will resonate for future generations, and it's a testament to his alma mater for recognizing this."
– Bob Litan, Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC
"During his quarter-century of broadcasting, Jim Blasingame gave small business a voice."
– Dror Liwer, Founder, Coro; Participant in the Abraham Accords, Tel Aviv, Israel
"Jim Blasingame referring to himself as The Small Business Advocate is the greatest understatement of the century."
– Greg Sullivan, Entrepreneur and Global Technology Thought Leader, St. Louis, MO
"Jim Blasingame knows how economics works, and for decades infused it into his entrepreneurial programming."
– Guy Sorman, Chair, La Maison Française at New York University, Paris, France
"Congratulations to the University of North Alabama for recognizing what many already knew about Jim Blasingame."
– Grant Leboff, Sticky Marketing Club Limited, London, England
"Jim Blasingame is THE pioneer of podcasting, the entrepreneurship expert and big thinker."
– Vicky Oliver, author, Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers and Office Idiots, New York, NY
"Jim Blasingame mentored me for our podcast, which we continue to produce over a decade later."
– Pamela S. Harper, Founder & CEO, Business Advancement Inc., Glen Rock, NJ
"Jim Blasingame is small business' national treasure! Thanks to UNA for perpetuating his important digital catalog."
– Michael Lee Stallard, author, Connection Culture and Fired Up or Burned Out, Westport, CT
"Jim Blasingame was my first media training teacher."
– Amanda Elam, Ph.D., CEO, Galaxy Diagnostics, Research Triangle, NC
"Jim Blasingame was not only podcasting before anyone knew what that was, he was also the first, and for many years the only one devoted to small business."
– Pamela Danziger, President, Unity Marketing, Stevens, PA
"Jim Blasingame is in a league of his own. And now, his treasure chest of work will endure."
– Barbara L. Pagano, Ed.S., Award-Winning Author and Retirement Life Expert, Nashville, TN
"Jim's excellence in radio/audio/podcast literally set the bar for what it's supposed to look and sound like."
– Ramon Ray, Author, Speaker and Entrepreneurial Thought Leader, Elizabeth, NJ
"Merely having Jim Blasingame's name associated with IBM helped create partnerships with organizations like the SBA, U.S. Chamber and many others."
– Steve Wittenborn, Former IBM Marketing Manager, Chicago, IL
ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA:
Established in 1830, the University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; the Spencer College of Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. For more: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/. CONTACT: Michelle Eubanks, Director, Office of Media and Public Relations 1 256-765-4392 [email protected]
Media Contact
Joan Avagliano, The Dilenschneider Group, 1 917-579-3395, [email protected]
Jim Blasingame, Small Business Network, Inc., 1 256-335-8402, [email protected]
SOURCE Jim Blasingame
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