Why Doesn't NPR Sound More Like the Rest of America?

NPR ^ | May 18, 2005 | Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

[baystaterebel]

Listeners say they can always tell when they are tuned to a public radio station. They say they can tell by the sound of the voices, the cadence of the delivery and the intonation of the reporters and announcers.

Many listeners who are non-English speaking immigrants to the United States say that NPR and public radio in general give them the best information and the clearest diction on American radio. Anyone who takes a taxi in Washington, D.C. can attest to NPR's popularity among immigrant cab drivers.

[baystaterebel]

Well? This should put to rest any doubt about who should win the "MOST CLUELESS AND POINTLESS MAN IN AMERICA AWARD"

Remember your tax dollar pays this bores salary.

[Disambiguator]

Listeners say they can always tell when they are tuned to a public radio station. They say they can tell by the sound of the voices, the cadence of the delivery and the intonation of the reporters and announcers.

This is true, but not the way the writer thinks it is.

"Listeners say they can always tell when they are tuned to a public radio station. They say they can tell by the whiny sound of the voices, the sneering cadence of the delivery and the pompous intonation of the reporters and announcers."

There, fixed.

[Darkwolf]

I despise NPR but this guy is 100% correct--just not in the way he seems to think. NPR's announcers DO have the best diction. It's as simple as that. An immigrant can hear what's called "beige voice" in the hosts.

What I find interesting, though, is how the multiculturalists, who are always going on about diversity, will now praise something like this, which is the closest thing to a "conformist" voice on the radio. When you drive through the south, the south east, or the northeast, you will hear the REAL sounds of America, not this kind of bland, textbook-dry speaking.

In either case, what's wrong with being able to understand people's words? I can bitch about NPR day and night, but this seems like we're just looking for something to bitch about. The guy says NPR hosts speak well; they do.

[Tax-chick]

I think it's interesting. It's important for radio announcers to speak more clearly than the average yokel in a Wal-mart line (including me :-). After all, you can't ask someone on the radio to repeat himself, or to spell the word for you!

And they should never have music playing in the background during the traffic report!

[xcamel]

I wonder if it's the subcarrier brainwashing signal that has something to do with it.....

[AlexW]

I am in Slovakia, and the only English speaking programing on the TV is restricted to CNN/international, Eurosports, and one half of DW (a German news station).

I was just thinking last week how boring and STYLED the CNN speech was. They all sound the same.
Well, I just got cable internet, and now listening to Rush from my old home town station WREC in Memphis.

[joesnuffy]

Golden Fleece Award ...NPR and NPTV

Stop using tax payer dollars for this crap please...

Paying the housing, medical and educational for illegal aliens is bad enough

imo

[Random Nonsense]

Having lived in different parts of the world (mostly non English speaking countries), and having listened to the BBC, Radio Australia, and Voice of America, indeed the NPR sounds like them. I reckon it's perhaps they are easier to listen to on-air with all the ups and downs fading signals typical of shortwave radio stations. However now that internet radios are quite common, hopefully more people will explore these and not relying solely on these giants, politically correct and politically biased broadcast radios.

Cheers mates !!

[ZeitgeistSurfer]

The measured cadences and teased diphthongs are only there to disguise the vile leftist propaganda that is the main product of NPR.

[Gondring]

And they should never have music playing in the background during the traffic report!

Or automobile horn blasts during advertisements.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

For any problem or dispute, anywhere in the US or the world, NPR ALWAYS turns to some government bow-wow or queer NGO with a government feeding tube for comment. Just listen sometime and see if I've got it right.

[Sans-Culotte]

The unique sound is more due to the fact that they produce stories for radio in a TV-style. They use sounds the way TV uses both sounds and images. I cannot stand the elitist tone of their voices, but I do admire the quality of sound in their field reports, artist profiles, etc.

We will never hear a conservative version of this sort of thing because NPR is so leftist/Marxist. I was talking to an aquaintance the other day who gets her news from NPR "because they are so balanced". I almost had a stroke when she said that. I think I did one of those choking on my coffee things that people do in sitcoms when she said it...

[Ukiapah Heep]

That is entirely true! I can spot the NPR reporter in three words, and tune to another station!

[APFel]

There is a newsguy on my local NPR (cleverly called MPR here-- Minnesota Public Radio) who sounds like he is gargling battery acid as he reads the news. I'm not sure if he is national or not, but he bothers me.

NPR in general just bothers me. PEZ dispenser wisdom shrouded in an air of intelligence. Completely bogus radio, IMHO.

APf

[baystaterebel]

The point was that of all the things the NPR ombudsman could be writing about, Jeffery picks diction?

Don't you think NPR has more pressing issues Mr. Dvorkin could be responding to?

[Tax-chick]

Or automobile horn blasts during advertisements.

That, too!

[3AngelaD]

I think it was P.J. O'Rourke who said listening to public radio was like listening to someone reading the most boring page of the New York Times in a droning voice.

[Darkwolf]

Other than finding commercial funding, I don't think NPR has ANY pressing topics. And it's actually an interesting subject to some. Not to you, but that's OK, some folks find it interesting...and THEY can fund it.

[righttackle44]

NPR ^ | May 18, 2005 | Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

I thought for a minute is said Kevorkian.

[Darkwolf]

LOL Well, they're doing a crappy job of disguising it.

I find it amusing that people complain about NPR's hosts speaking well. If we had a conservative radio organization that spoke this way we'd be praising them night and day for bringing civility and high standards to broadcasting. I mean, let's call it like it is here--how they speak is the last thing I'd criticize about National Propaganda Radio.