What Makes a Great News Voice?

[KMan]

Well over a decade ago I fell in love with the immediacy of newsradio. I loved the reach of the hourly newscasts, the quality of the reporting in such a short window of time, and the reliability as a go to source when you're on the move for news. Also, KOMO in Seattle flipped to all-news, and was my first exposure to a great "news wheel" product.

As time has marched on, its been interesting to note many of the old guard anchors retire. These are the guys with great, clear, distinct voices and a classical "newsman" diction. I'm thinking of guys like ABC's Gil Fox, Bob Hardt, Bill Greenwood, Bill Diehl, Clarissa Douglas, etc. Younger news anchors and reporters just don't seem to have the same distinct sound. Is this type of sound and voice still valued in radio today? Do young wanna be journalists with booming voices get funneled towards radio (or even TV)? Does anyone still offer voice training to learn how to speak with just the right diction and sound distinctive?

Today on CBS Radio News, there was a new voice covering the afternoon drive hourlies. Usually on Friday's this shift is Jim Taylor's. He's the primary sub for all the main newscasters; I heard him filling in for someone else this week. Pam Coulter usually covers this shift on Friday when he's out; she must not be available (or maybe she's been moved to Capitol Hill to replace the retired Bob Fuss). Anyways, the fill in was WCBS anchor Deborah Rodriguez. From the time she said "CBS News" I perked up. What a commanding voice and speaking style. She sounds great. I've never heard her before.

Here's one of her newscasts from today. If you listen to the whole about halfway through is a report from long time Jerusalem correspondent Robert Berger, whose voice also commands a big audience:
http://audio.cbsradionewsfeed.com/2014/07/18/16/Hourly-16.mp3

This evening, overnight anchor Jim Chenevey is off. They replaced him with a freelancer named Steve Dorsey. Looked him, young guy, background in TV. While he does a competent job, he just doesn't have the presence of a Deborah Rodriguez, Bill Whitney, Frank Settipani, or Jim Chenevey.
http://audio.cbsradionewsfeed.com/2014/07/19/02/Hourly-02.mp3

Any thoughts? What makes a great radio voice these days? Once the old guard retires, is that it?

 

[Small Market Guy]

I don't think a big voice is as important as speaking clearly these days.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

+1 on what SMG just posted.

"Big Voices" (which means different things to different people) were "the thing" back in the days when we had tube-radios mounted in resonant wood cabinets that made a big voice sound like our vision of "The Voice of God". Much of the listening in days gone by were under good listening conditions. (Early Radio: that meant a family sitting around the big console in a quiet living room.) We had two or three generations of people who saw that as The Standard for radio delivery.



Fast forward to today. People are listening to radio where they work: that may be an automobile repair shop, a warehouse, the full service car wash. Some people are listening on ear buds. Some people are listening in noisy truck cabs as they negotiate city traffic. And the AM and FM bands are more crowed today so even with a good radio receiver, you may get a slightly noisy, static containing audio signal. Today's listener want's clarity. They need clearly enunciated words. Don't bore me with beautiful well-rounded vowels. Just tell me the news in a way that I can hear it and understand what you say. Now, if you have the ability to write creatively, make it interesting, and add some humor when appropriate. All the better.

I notice in television at the local level, the "on the scene" reporters seem to be chosen NOT for "big voices", and sometimes not for great script writing. They get the job because they arrive on the scene and scour out the story like a junk yard dog while other reporters who are too nicey nice don't get the story. There is more to news than just a big voice.

 

[Small Market Guy]

To tag on to all of that, accents aren't a big deal anymore either. Thank goodness for that, since I have a bit of a Baltimore accent.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

During my broadcasting years I worked very hard to train, to shape my voice to be appropriate for radio. It was a struggle.

Then when I walked away, everywhere I went people would immediately ask: Do you work in radio? Did you? You sound like a radio guy. So I spent as many years trying to make my voice un-radio like as I did trying to be "good radio". Today I don't think about it when I talk. I have fun being who ever I want to be.... sometimes throwing in some drawl you might expect from a a goofy goat rodeo clown or something.

Early this week I stopped at the pharmacy to request a prescription refill and pick up one that the doctor had called in. As I explained to the "sweet young thing" at the counter what I needed, she said to me as she started toward the computer terminal: "They ought to hire you to announce the lottery."

I would have felt better if she had said: They should hire you to broadcast the news!

 

[Avid Listener]

Then when I walked away, everywhere I went people would immediately ask: Do you work in radio? Did you? You sound like a radio guy.

I've been told the same thing, even though I only worked in radio for a few months when I was a teenager.