DBO's Heather Jackson sounds like Jessie Jackson (overnight)

[wpio]

In fact I can understand Jessie Jackson's speech a little easier than DBO's Heather Jackson.

The God-given sound of her voice is great, but some speech coaching is needed.

Get up some night and catch the bottom-hour/top of the hour breaks. It's a hoot!

 

[vadar]

Here's my question: How do these folks get jobs in this industry????????????? You either have the skills to be a broadcaster or you don't, plain and simple. What an embarassment for a top 37 Market.

 

[MrClean]

Wow you guys are harsh. It IS an overnight position. I'm sure the pay is much less than working at Denny's. Give the girl a break, or heck coach her yourself.

 

[cflradio]

Am I wrong or is this shift a training ground for radio hopefuls? Personally I think she does a fine job during her shift. There is an awful lot going on during the breaks overnight. I don't have a problem understanding her. I'm surprised at the comments.

 

[spideysense]

I agree with the reponses; she does a great job and is constantly finding breaking news. much better than just hearing abc national news all night. her voice is great, maybe she just gets flustered sometimes. for the most part though she sounds great overnights.

 

[vadar]

Boo hoo, this is me being nice:

You get what you pay for.............

Sure, great person, but in a market of almost 2 million do we need this kind of "talent"

 

[P-R]

When up late listening to Mark Levin I hear Heather. In the past month or so, when a tornado touched down in rural Orange County just after 3:30a she did not handle things well, fortunately Dave Wahl was in early to take over. Otherwise...the content is fine as is her voice. But, pre-reading should be done and or if possible put the elements in a digital system...this way she can record the elements in advance and edit the errors out and work on pacing (and the frustration factor). During the hours she is on, the traffic report part should not be a problem recording ahead of time unless there is something major needing immediate attention. Of course practicing as much as possible in the prod studio will help...doing mock shifts until she becomes comfortable. Just positive thoughts of things that can be done.

 

[vadar]

Here's a positive thought:

Get someone with radio experience into that shift...........................no hacks allowed!!!!

 

[BIG APE]

Here's a positive thought:

Get someone with radio experience into that shift...........................no hacks allowed!!!!

Pick me Pick me Pick me..Wait a minute DBO is a news station ain't it!

 

[Talknet]

I guess I'll need to listen and find out how bad this lady really is. I find it very hard to believe she's worse than Elizabeth Arenas!!!! Just the other day they billboarded a coming news story and when it was her doing it, just like I said before "OFF GOES WDBO". If I ever decide to loose weight by throwing up my food, I'll listen to Elizabeth. That girl puts a new definition to "terrible"! Why does she have that job????????????
If Heather is that bad then they should have Elizabeth join her. Overnigts would be perfect for them.

 

[Talknet]

Lets not forget Belinda Skelton! Once again "OFF GOES WDBO". This Atlanta accent, either natural or exaggerated (which I highly suspect) is equally uncharacteristic of the rest of the female air staff at WDBO.

 

[vadar]

Lawd, get these people off the air...............

 

[MrClean]

Vadar, obviously you're the all knowing radio god. I'm sure the DBO management wishes they could have someone like you as their consultant. Give the girl a break.

 

[vadar]

MrClean

I'm not knowing all, but you give me a break and explain to me how such poor talent belongs on the airwaves. Surely, there are other proving grounds which someone can learn and be coached, but please not in market #37.

People deserve breaks, but not in a top 40 market...............

 

[wpio]

I'll extend and revise my comments on Heather Jackson. (all graveyard observations)

-In her first year, there were more than one, "giggle-out-crashes" during the live read. I feared that if it got to management, it was bad enough to lose the position. Glad it didn't happen.

-She omits sylables in many words. (less so lately, especially this week!)

-The intonation gets a C minus. Sentence breaks are very slurred, one into the other.

-The voice itself is pleasant. The imaginary face you put with that voice would be a real cutie-pie of a girl.

-I fault DBO for not getting someone in their ranks (equivalent to Bud H) to have some coaching sessions with her.

 

[MrClean]

It's pretty sad when this board is used to bash on people. Let's keep it to rumors and not trash talking.

 

[P-R]

I noticed on a recent ad in All Access that Marsha Taylor is seeking mp3/resumes for anchor/reporter for WDBO. Below is the url to WDBO's contact page for anyone interested in sending materials.

Putting in my two cents...Joe Francis would be perfect for a news/anchor position. I know he is still looking since he was let go at WLOQ (where he was at for thirty years)

If Marsha reads this...feel free to email me, I can pass Joe's contact info ;D

http://580wdbo.com/inside/contact_us.html

 

[Tad]

I have been a loyal WDBO listener for years. I have heard good and bad anchors and reporters alike. This young lady does not seem to be one of the bad ones. In fact, I have recently tuned back in and been pleasantly surprised to hear her anchoring the news over night. She's even had breaking news before it can hit the TVs. I don't know what some of you are talking about. Perhaps she was having an "off" day, or night.

I agree with some of the other posts. If you think you are so great, why don't you apply for her job? Perhaps because you wouldn't get it!

I would love to know what you do for a living when you aren't bashing women on WDBO.

 

[P-R]

Heather sounded good this morning.

The reality of radio is there are not an abundance of places for people starting out to learn the craft. The small market and unrated stations of yesteryear where someone could learn and grow now have few live shifts...overnights with any live and local elements are rare to find even in large markets. In this day and age it is remarkable WDBO has live elements in the overnights!

Unfortunately due to the hours of the overnight person it can be a tough thing for a busy ND and or PD to coach...that is reality. It is up to that newbie newscaster to practice...regardless if it is in the production studio or at home reading out loud from the newspaper or news stories on-line.

 

[kentraco]

The reality of radio is there are not an abundance of places for people starting out to learn the craft.

The two mistakes I notice most when listening to younger news readers are (1) a somewhat slurred delivery and (2) emphasis on the wrong words. These are minor and could be corrected if someone took the time to provide constructive criticism to beginners. I'm sure everyone wants to do a good job, but often the standards aren't made clear.

If left to their own devices, they're not as likely to learn that talking, simply reading aloud and conveying news or any other message to the radio listener are three distinctly different skills.

As a former production director who has coached many individuals on the nuance of delivery, I'm amazed that no one bothers to explain to the neophyte, for example, that there's a world of difference between the statements "The Dow was up today on heavy trading" and "The Dow WAS up today on heavy trading".