How do they make all Radio Announcers sound alike, respective of the genre of radio style?

Question

all the NPR announcers sound like they went to some posh, panache speech class. even their guests sound more articulate. Once Will Smith was on like Fresh Air dang he already got a smooth voice but to hear him on the radio with that 'enhancement' he sounded even cooler.

all soft rock morning d.j.'s sound the same. I was flipping channels and heard one voice and thought I was still on the same station.

all r&b ones sound the same.


What's up with that characteritic?

Answer 1

They train us in broadcasting school to sound a certain way for a certain format. You can't go on a country station sounding like a smoove jazz DJ and you can't go to a classical station all hyped up talking about the latest Brittany Spears performance on the VMA's. They're supposed to sound the same. That's how you can tell the difference in format.

Answer 2

Although some may not admit it, many announcers adjust their "delivery" in one way or another to suit the format in which they are working.

An announcer working for a station that plays Hip Hop and R&B hits might want to sound younger and "hipper", perhaps speaking faster and with more enthusiasm, than an announcer working for the classical music station.

Part of this is following tradition...top-40 radio announcers have sounded "up" and have had a rapid delivery since the beginning of the format. NPR announcers may appear to sound cerebral and "laid back", for the same reason.

While modern radio programmers will insist that they want announcers to sound 'natural', without affectations, they do want announcers who "sound" like the people they are targeting. An oldies station targeting men 35-54 would want announcers to sound like middle-aged men. A rock station playing metal would want announcers to sound like their 15-35 year old target audience.

Answer 3

This is a great question and I could write volumes about it (but I promise I won't).

I think it is a sort of generational thing. Young DJs and talk personalities have their idols - those they emulate. Their idols had theirs when they were younger. So over the years you get a sort of homogenized sound, based on how the personality "thinks" he/she should sound according to how their idol sounded - and what format or genre they're in.

There is also a considerable amount of processing equipment involved between the announcer's mouth and your radio. Over the years much of this equipment has become "industry standard." Consequently, the same sort of settings on the same machines will have a little bit to do with it. "Let's see, at my last Smooth Jazz station, I kept the Framistan-Optimizer at 7.625, so we'll do that here at my new Smooth Jazz station."

Then of course, there are the stand-out radio personalities. Their voices are easily recognizable and sound nothing like any other. These are the guys who prove that you don't have to have the world's greatest voice to be in radio. Look at Tom Leykis, Howard Stern, Gary Burbank, Dan Ingram, Opie & Anthony, John "Records" Landecker, Jackson Armstrong and other big-name personalities and you'll find they all had/have a distinct sound.

NPR announcers "think" they should sound like that, so they do; most soft-rock (and other format) jocks are "told" to sound a certain way because that's what's consistent with the sound the program director wants, and/or it's working in another city - so they do what they're told.

Until we get the next Wolfman Jack (RIP), you might have to really search around to find a personality that sounds different, but offers you the product you want from your radio listening experience. Good luck - good question - a star 4U!
-a guy named duh