@Capulet... many many stations still use the "low voiced guys". Many successful but not b/c of the VO guy/girl. There are local stations that do well yet have overtly fatiguing voice/imaging....painfully so.
Agreed, the content of the liners/positioning is what matters. If you have a "low voice" talent that can pull that off, like a Brian James or John Wells, great. If the PD goes in another direction with a younger sounding voice, fine. Up to the PD and what he/she hears in their respective heads to how the station is presented. Is the "low voiced" guy out of date? I disagree. I don't recall seeing research that stated that type of voice ended ten years ago. Perhaps some programmer or con-sultant somewhere made a declaration and the programming lemmings followed. I don't know. All depends on how it's done. I for one don't care for WMJI's VO talent. Nothing against him. He's very good (also the voice of Disney's tv spots). But for my ear.... I don't care for him on that format. It's personal opinion for a PD who also has to decide if the talent will represent the stationality properly. Ann Dewig (LAKE-FM) is one of the best. She sounds real. She's worked hard at it. Cousin Deke (WGAR VO) also sounds like the guy next door.... depending on the writing. What ATL's Bull does is very good in how they use Deke.
