Foiled Again: NPR's Tweed Wall Of Silence
I'm a radio nut. I love me some radio. I'm a fan of WNYC —or NPR, whatever you wanna call it.
I love the the BBC World Service, I back All Things Considered, Car Talk and Brian Lehrer. I fancy The Infinite Mind, Jonathan Schwartz and Leonard Lopate. I'm down with Soterios Johnson weekday mornings, On The Media and A Prarie Home Companion on the weekends. I usually wrestle with waking up during Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me! and Studio 360. And who could forget This American Life and John Schaefer's Sound Check & New Sounds...
But, as you may know, I simply cannot stand the woman who does the underwriter's announcements.
And to professionally critique and oust this woman, I felt I should, at very least, know her name first. It's only fair; as going on and on about the "woman who does the underwriting announcements on NPR" sounds a bit disingenuous. Journalistically speaking, of course.
So I fired off a harmless, innocently inquisitive email to listenerservices@wnyc.org and here's how it went down:
-----Original Message-----
From: Gotham City Insider
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 1:47 PM
To: WNYC Listener Services
Subject: A Simple Query
Who voices all your announcements / commercials?
Can you tell me her name?
Thank you, kindly.
Dear Gotham City Insider,
Thank you for writing to WNYC Radio about our underwriting announcer.
Unfortunately, it's our policy to not share this announcer's name or contact information, in order to more strictly adhere to our guidelines for underwriting announcements as a public radio station. These guidelines include using no superlative, qualitative or comparative language in underwriting announcements, and the announcements can not contain inducements to buy or calls to action or mention price, discounts, or sales. By the same token, we prefer for the announcer to not be known as a "personality".
However, the announcer is a colleague of ours at the station, and we would be more than happy to pass on any feedback about her performance. So, please feel free to forward any correspondence to this email address, or to:
Listener Services
WNYC Radio
One Centre Street
New York, NY 10007
And thank you for taking the time to be an involved listener!
Warm regards,
[redacted]
WNYC Listener Services
Hmmmm... Why is NPR hiding this woman in the shadows, I wondered.
Was it because others before me have inquired about her insane, robotic cadence? Is that why she is shrouded in mystery? Is NPR afraid of making public this overenunciating freak?
In addition to prohibiting the mystery announcer from using any 'superlative, qualitative or comparative language' do they also prohibit her from speaking like a mammal?
Perhaps employing the inflection of an emotive human being could somehow be misconstrued as an inducement to buy or a call to action?
I smell a conspiracy. A big, fat rat.
Why else would the kind WNYC Listener Services person send me 10,000 words on why no one is allowed to know this announcers name?
Perhaps she's actually a robot? That would explain everything, really. An NPR announcer droid where they simply enter the daily underwriter announcements and this cyborg spits it out?
God, it's all making sense now!
Soterios Johnson gets in early to fire up the announcer for another days broadcast
91 comments:
i'm trying to find out this woman's name too! Ugh I cannot stand to hear her too-close-to-the-mike announcements. Keep digging!
I came upon this web-site because I googled "WNYC announcer" because I enjoy this announcer so much. I have no idea what it is - but I can't get enough of her. I find your posts and equally enthusiastic negative response fascinating. As someone who is very involved politically (for grins won't mention of what persuasion), I often run across vigorous disagreements, but they tend to run across many policy and inclination issues. To disagree so vigorously with a stranger on such an obscure subject is, as stated, fascinating. Well, I hope you get over your displeasure with our friend. KS
"To disagree so vigorously with a stranger on such an obscure subject is, as stated, fascinating."
Its not an obscure subject to me because I am also a voice over artist and I tend to listen to radio a bit differently than most. Not unlike how chef may notice the subtle flavours others may not. And yes, her over enunciation drives me INSANE to this day.
She absolutely is a computer program. Ever listen to your Apple speak text - same cadence.
OK GCI - I get that it is less obscure to you. Still - for what it may be worth - I find most radio announcers vanilla and un-noteworthy. I find this one fascinating and endlessly enjoyable to listen to. And I find my level of interest (and your disdain) both strange and interesting. I actually look forward to hearing her. I don't get your "too close to the mike critique". I DO get the "computer program" critique, but I find that more stylistically unique than mechanical. I've asked her name too and didn't get the courtesy of a response. BTW - I noticed recently that she has a script that had more than one "and" in it. She pronounced one "and" and one "aynd" (like Upstate NY or maybe Mid-west). She also seems to pronounce Frence extremely well. Finally, she also lately seems to have become somewhat more conventional.
Well, I hope you get over this distaste.
Happy listening.
KS
PS - do you ever catch Betty Nguyen on CNN? If so, any reaction?
I've worked in NYC radio all my life and I was groomed early on to sound like I was from Anytown, USA. Voice coaches give classes on Accent Reduction & Modification. Its one thing if a certain accent is called for in voice acting but when it comes to radio announcing which is an entirely different arena, accents are frowned upon, albeit somewhat surprisingly. Working at a NYC station I figured a regional NY accent would lend credence & credibility to my pitch, making it sound like it was coming from a real New Yorker. But, nope. They didn’t want that. Many station would rather you announce with absolutely no discernable dialect. Leave the interesting and quirky voices, styles, pronunciations and accents to the DJ's and the hosts but when it comes to announcing commercials and selling products they want you to sound warm, happy and plain. Not like a Noo Yawka, not like Oh Yaah Fargo Ey? none of that. I think this NPR girl takes it to the next level and sounds like a robot from a different planet.
From what I know, and have learned, NPR has some very strict underwriting policies. The girl we are speaking about is referred to as their “underwriting announcer.” Its obviously a back office co-worker who they groomed for the position. Due to these strict underwriting policies you never hear the NPR hosts “selling” anything. And I remember as far back as college radio at NYU when we weren’t allowed to make any claims or speak in a tone that could be construed as a “call to action” and that is precisely what our friend is doing but she is taking it to a retarded level and speaking like a robot devoid of any emotion reading text like its data input for her computer brain.
NPR basically explained to me why she talks like a robot in not so many words: “Unfortunately, it's our policy to not share this announcer's name or contact information, in order to more strictly adhere to our guidelines for underwriting announcements as a public radio station. These guidelines include using no superlative, qualitative or comparative language in underwriting announcements, and the announcements can not contain inducements to buy or calls to action or mention price, discounts, or sales. By the same token, we prefer for the announcer to not be known as a "personality".”
They WANT a robot. Get it? I wouldn’t be surprised if they TOLD her “talk like a robot. No emotion at all” because emotion is BAD when it comes to the guidelines for underwriting announcements at a public station.
I also came to the post while researching this enigmatic voice-over artist. I have often thought that she must be a robot as well. And her foriegn accents are quite flawless, which makes it all so much stranger. My reaction had been "how is this woman on the air," and "I really think she's a robot, no wait, no.. yes, no..." but now I almost enjoy 'her' enunciation. It's kind of funny, at this point this shadowy announcer is more distinct as a personality than a more emotive reader might be. I particularly hate the add about Disney's the Little Mermaid, btw.
I delved a bit further a few days ago and I think I may've figured out why she sounds so robotic...
WNYC in the News; the FCC and Underwriting on Public Radio
Hi
I work at WNYC. The voice of the female robot is an announcer that you've heard many times before in the course of their usual programming. It sounds robotic because they always start with the same 2 second drop-in "Support for WNYC is provided by" which is always the same. Also you should be aware that NPR and WNYC are not the same thing. WNYC pays NPR for their shows same as they do for PRI or other content providers. That's their only affiliation with NPR--no one at WNYC works for NPR.
Woah.
Holy doublespeak, Batman!
In 92 words you've managed to say absolutely nothing at all.
Do you work for the White House?
The drop-in you speak of which prefaces all the underwriting announcements has nothing to do with her droid-like cadence. But, thanks for playing!
Woah, dude.
I'm the batman doublespeak guy that works at WNYC (and I've also been a guest on the Lopate Show). I can't stand the robot-like voices either. I think they strive for that type of professional entertainment. However, it's not a robot--it's real humans who record these underwriting credits. Like I said, that's WNYC's schtick. They've determined (right or wrong) that that's what the people want to hear. What else do you need to know?
Haha! It's all good.
I'm confident you realize just about everything on my blog is penned with a wisp of sarcasm.
That said, I actually published a follow up to this article a few weeks ago in which I stumbled upon the conclusion that WNYC specifically uses your fembot colleague to do the underwriting announcements specifically because of the temperamental FCC. Which made a lot of sense, actually, after further researching the FCC's insanely intransigent rules for underwriting on public radio.
Surely you can't expect me to believe WNYC decided SHE is what people WANT to hear!? I'd dare say that is quite improbable as her voice has the same staccato stream as Dr. Sbaitso, the old school MS DOS-based artificial intelligence program; which is far from engaging or enchanting.
I would safely surmise your humanoid colleague was chosen (or instructed to) for her ability to speak sans human emotion to allay the notoriously fastidious Federal Communications Commission.
WNYC in the News; the FCC and Underwriting on Public Radio
I'm aware of the FCC pay-off (bribe?) regarding the ambigious funding credit but I can assure you that it doesn't figure in to the fembot voice. Every weeknight between 11 and 12 on the AM station, NYC broadcasts the audio portion of the Jim Lehrer Report complete with public tv underwriting credits which go much further in the hyperbole department than you're typically allowed to in public radio. As mentioned before, that two second drop-in is always EXACTLY THE SAME so I think that adds to the robotic nature of the funding credit. The male and female announcers who do the funding credits can also be heard in other on air capacities at the station such as doing news, hosting shows, etc. The suits at NYC aren't deliberately trying for a robot voice thing but because of their slavish devotion to vanilla professionalism, the tone of the credits are what they have determined are appropriate for the listeners and more importantly the advertisers (sorry-- "underwiters").
To the batcave!
No, no, spin doctor ;), I am referring to ONE and only ONE voice/announcer. Said announcer is a woman. I have an inkling that she may or may not be of Asian persuasion. And I have never heard anyone speak with such an insane cadence, ever. (save for a computer)
I know no other underwriting announcers or these other late night announcements you speak of. The woman/announcer in question can be heard throughout the day. She is not the voice of another show. Her voice is only heard for these underwriter announcements.
Her soulless inflection has absolutely nothing to do with this two second drop-in you keep alluding to so STOP! Her bizarre style has EVERYTHING to do with the way she pronounces and over enunciates every single syllable of every single word. Like a speech therapist on heroin.
I am rattled by the fact that the FCC investigation had nothing to do with the need for a robotic voice. This is very disturbing. Are you telling me this woman CHOOSES to speak like this?! Are you telling me WNYC tried out some other people and chose HER!?! I can't imagine she has many friends if this is how she speaks when the microphones aren't on.
Stop spinning and making fog.
Are YOU the announcer?!??!?!!
And it's not just her hyper-enunciation, it's that ever present hint of a smile. It sends me straight, and with great speed, up the wall and onto the ceiling. It's not uncommon for an announcer to add bit of a smile, but "she" finds something nearly chuckle-worthy within everything she "reads." Am I alone in hearing this? (Well, yes, I'm often alone when I hear it, but I mean...)
Even if she is one of us flesh 'n blood types, she is most certainly and without a doubt a c-c-c-omputer.
Z
I also came upon your blog by googling "WNYC announcer".
I don't know what it is about that voice.
On the one hand, I find it nearly unbearable -- yes, maybe too close to the microphone, too intimate perhaps. She sounds a bit nasal -- perhaps she is feeling a bit under the weather? Do I want to offer her a tissue? Or, since she sounds a bit "too close", do I subconsciously feel in danger of catching her cold?
Now that I know there is a growing community of WNYC Announcer Obsessives, I can not wait to hear that voice again, and be driven up the wall one more time!
Strangely, NPR itself does not have such a restriction. They provide the biography of their funding credits reader, on their website:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2101277
They even used him once (by name) in a news story on "All Things Considered".
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1777328
No, we're not talking about Frank Tavares.
We're talking about a woman. She sounds Asian. Definitely not Frank. I think thats a very old link.
Ugh, I cannot stand that woman's voice. Part of it is the false "hint of a smile" (which is also what drives me crazy about Clayelle Dalferes on QXR). That in combination with the maniacal, robotic quality of her voice---so much like that voice who answers when you call certain automated numbers, like Orbitz or directory assistance..."ahhhI'm sorry. I didn't understand you." How can the people at the station bear it? Has she taken over? then again, they do also have the dreaded "The Takeaway....."
The other night I was watching "Forgotten Ellis Island" on PBS and thought I heard that same voice. The credits listed Mary McKitrick, and some of the samples on her website sounded a lot like what you've been describing...
Hmmm, good work. I'm going to investigate this Mary McKitrick. She does sound a lot like the WNYC girl but the vibe I got from the poking around I have done with NPR is that its one of their own - someone who works there. I'd be very surprised if they were paying a VO talent to voice their not-for-profit spots. The voice of NPR is probably the voice of the night receptionist or something.
Spoke with Mary C. McKitrick. Its not her. Foiled again!
I got wind of this thread and read it with great interest, thinking about the announcements lady at our local public radio station who also sounds like a robot, emphasizing completely random words as if she had no idea what she was saying. “Right on” I says to myself as Gotham City Insider echos all my own sentiments about this species of announcer. I’ve even been thinking lately, how can I get them to can that woman and hire me instead? I can sound impartial while still giving meaning to Stoneyfield Farms yogurt!!!!
And then I get to the end of the thread and find that SOMEBODY THINKS I SOUND LIKE ANNOYING WNYC ANNOUNCER LADY!!! OMG!! Oh death come close mine eyes and where is thy ruddy sting??? It was like expecting a kiss and getting an enema! Oh ye of anonymity – show thyselves, and I will engage you!! Put ‘em up, put ‘em up!!!
Mary McKitrick
Excuse me? Mary McKitrick sounds robotic? Do you have cotton in your ears? Her well nuanced narrations are a pleasure to listen to and her character work is nothing less than wonderful.
For shame “anonymous” for using the cloak of obscurity to malign my good friend and colleague, Mary McKitrick! To this I say, “Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war; That this foul deed shall smell above the earth…” You’ve certainly managed to foul the air in this place with your lurking cowardice. I suggest you quietly slink back into the primordial ooze from whence you came.
Mary doesn't need me to defend her, heaven knows—but I must say if you want someone to narrate excruciatingly technical medical texts, and make you relaxed because you can tell she "gets it", there's no better person than MCM.
She's got a pretty spiffy VO palette. You can hear the whole spectrum on her website. Anonymous apparently didn't do much listening.
Thanks for the press, though! I'm just glad you spelled her name right.
Mary McKitrick, an awesome voice talent who voiced parts of Forgotten Ellis Island, is an amazing voiceover artist! MCM rocks!
Yep...good SEO for Mary!;-)
Ok. Enough.
Luckily, talent still gets recognized... and Mary is amongst the very best in female voiceover talent; period. Could it be possible, Gotham City Insider, that her client specifically ASKED her to voice the work that way? In that case (of which I'm pretty sure BTW) she did a fantastic job. Just ask Mary and she'll deliver. By all means... DELIVERY is what makes voiceover artist stand out from just voices...
I credit her for her versatility. She's awesome!
Hail Mary! ;-)
Regards from sunny Curaçao,
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
NOW you cry "enough" when the attention is turned back to you? It's not very gutsy to take potshots at people from a wall of sarcastic anonymity. Insider or not, your comments and the many "me too" comments that follow just smack of schoolyard bullying and simple jealousy. I'm happy to come here and defend a VO talent who didn't ask for your snark and didn't deserve it... and I join my friends DB, Edo and others in suggesting that you and your posse owe the NPR talent AND Mary McKitrick an apology for your boorish commentary.
Congrats "Insider" and posse. You just made fools out of yourselves for the entire world to see, anonymous or not.
Yawn. Any of you guys know a good remedy for recurring hiccups?
The cure wouldn't be needed if you, as a fellow voice talent as you say you are, hadn't brought it up in the first place. As a VO, you should certainly know that a client won't use your voice if they didn't like it or if they didn't have reason. And if they want you to sound a certain way then you do it. Or do you not understand the voice over world?
Of course I, too, am a fan of MCM. She has a voice that can do wonders.
Wait, Mary McKitrick gave me the hiccups?!
OK, so, we have established that WNYC voice is not that of Mary McKitrick. I do agree, however, that she does sound a lot like Mary. Mary is obviously more experienced, she has a slightly higher voice, more expressive. But the mystery remains -- who is the voice of WNYC?
I, too, have always had the impression that it was someone plucked from the back office. Someone hyper-aware of her own voice, but who never took that next step to train as a VO artist. The kind of person whom small-town drama teachers are always telling, "Hey, you have a great voice. You should do something with that!" And when the station manager starts trolling the accounting department for a new underwriting announcer, says, "Yyyyeesss! I cccann ddoo thattt."
I actually don't hate her voice like Gotham City Insider does. But I do find it hypnotic, and not in the best way. I have a long drive to and from work, and I am exhausted both ways. That voice makes my eyes do cartoon swirlies when it comes on, and I am almost sent into a deep sleep behind the wheel. Weird.
I stumbled upon this site because I, too, had to believe that there were others driven up the wall by this underwriter announcer's affect...it has gotten to the point where I can't listen to WNYC because hearing her oddly cheerful, strangely mechanical iterations of underwriter blurbs every ten minutes has simply become too irritating. I was literally guffawing in shock while out in public and listening to WNYC on the headphones at the sheer bizarreness of her renderings. Too many hours of Morning Edition and All Things Considered were spoiled by the relentless interspersing of her robotic tones. She sounds like a nice enough sort, just not in front of a microphone. Yet whenever I give WNYC another try, there she is again, still doing her thing....
I cannot believe I’ve finally found this thread, having conducted several fruitless searches of the WNYC website and the web in hopes of satisfying my morbid curiosity concerning WHO could possibly fabricate this annoying style of pronunciation. It’s like chalk on a blackboard, especially in the confines of a car. Her clipped treatment of web addresses ending in “dawt cuom” and “dawt ork” simply drives me round the bend. My family laughs because I have to flip off the radio, change the channel, or scream with my fingers in my ears until she is off the air. This is dangerous behavior for anyone operating a moving vehicle. I adore WNYC and have been a longtime member, but I cannot understand why they retain this individual in this capacity, or don’t just tell her to get over herself, already. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for yet another out-of-work NYer, but as the “underwriting announcer,” she does the station’s underwriters a disservice, because everyone is tuning out when announcer girl chimes in.
Thanks for the opportunity to vent on this. I feel better already.
And yet she persists. In fact, I think the station has increased the number of spots in which this hideous voice appears. Why? WHY? Unless....unless it is purposeful. Yes. That's it! A fiendishly clever plot to take over the entire city.....
I'm so happy I'm not alone. I was reassured when Leonard Lopate had Deborah Winger as a guest last summer, and she asked about the underwriter announcer: "Is that a computer?" apparently, she hates the voice as well. It is absoultely the most annoying voice I've ever heard on WNYC (or anywhere). The sticky staccato quality of her voice--as if you were sitting inside her mouth--is absolutely unbearable. I have a physical reaction when she comes on the radio. I can't reach the dial fast enough to turn down the volume.
FELLOW LISTENERS: How can we make this stop? Should we start writing to WNYC? Let's start a campaign...we have to stop the insanity.
Let's everyone email Jennifer Houlihan the Director of Publicity at WNYC:
jhoulihan@wnyc.org
Direct her to this blog so she will see just how many of us feel the same way!
I can't imagine we are alone.
I sent a comment to WNYC (but not to the publicity person Anonymous mentioned, as that address was posed after I'd already sent the e-mail to WNYC Listener Services.)
I heard back from them today:
"Dear Carolyn,
We understand that you do not like the voice of our current female underwriting announcer. Please know that all feedback, whether positive or negative, is valuable to us; your comments have been recorded, and I will pass them along to our senior staff. The tone and pace in which they are read are to adhere to the guidelines set forth by the FCC, stating that underwriting announcements for for-profit sponsors do not use superlative, qualitative or comparative language; contain inducements to buy or calls to action; or mention price, discounts, or sales. You may also notice that the character or tone of underwriting announcements matches the character of our programming.
Regards,
Sara-Rivka Davidson
WNYC Listener Services"
Yes, yes...we understand the underwriting announcement issues...but I would rather hear a robot than this woman's voice!
I'm at my wit's end.
Me too! At least you got a reply from WYNC, Yonkers Sidecar, albeit one that more or less dismissed the complaints about this announcer's work as a trivial idiosyncracy (as though they know far better than their listeners what belongs on the radio; meanwhile this whole episode is throwing that assumption into grave question); my e-mail messages to WYNC have gone unanswered. It really is very frustrating. Had Brian Lehrer on this morning, his progran is absolutely indispensable radio, and robot announcer came on every ten minutes, a painful, jarring nonsequitur disrupting brilliant programming. I am less likely to patronize the underwriters after she describes them. Fortunately, the "character or tone of underwriting announcements" do not "match the character" of WNYC's programming.
But apparently WNYC management cares not a whit about our opinions, because they know better than do we, the lowly listeners.
I found this blog while searching for the woman's name that you've been "discussing". I absolutely LOVE her voice. It's nice to hear a clear, serene sounding voice during my commute to and from work. I only wish more people had an almost flawless speech cadence in this epoch of language butchery and fragmented thought. Hopefully I'll have the pleasure of complimenting her directly someday.
John: I am sorry but you are quite obviously eihter directly related to the announcer, a close friend of hers or a WNYC employee. But, thanks for playing!
I'm not related to, or even have a clue who the woman is, and I'm not affiliated with WNYC or any radio staion. I do have a music career (including vocal) that spans over 40 years of both classical and contemporary genres which included road tours with notable artists. So you can assume what you like, but I trust my "ear" and still think that her voice is praiseworthy. BTW, I don't just play, I succeed.
I am so glad I found this blog. Our whole family comments on this announcer. My teenaged daughter was firmly convinced the announcer was hearing impaired because of her monotone delivery. I don't mind the cadence as much as the whispering snake-like hiss at the end of every other word. It reminds me of Ka from the Disney movie The Jungle Book. My husband has a wonderful ability to tune out things that to which he doesn't want to listen. What a gift! I still don't understand why the secrecy behind her identity. How can revealing who she is represent a violation of the FCC rules....I vote "Robot"
Man, I hope no one does find out who this woman is. If i were her I would fear for her life. :-)
I always wondered if she talks that way to her family or if it is indeed an affect... you know..."How was your day, dear?" and then ... the voice...
At first I did like and and was intrigued but now I do cringe... still sort of interested how a human can talk that way.
Oh, Glorious DAY! I woke up today to notice that woman's voice has been replaced by a man's voice! "IS it true?" I thought...I continued listening...it IS true! She's gone. I heard one announcement in her voice between 7 and 9 a.m.
I can't tell you how much better my morning went!
YAH HOO!
Let's hope so.... in the past, though,
she has apparently gone on vacation
for a week or two, rendering her relatively
absent from the airwaves, only to return...
I am very concerned that her dulcet tones
will be all over the new WQXR as well,
which would be most unfortunate,
OK wait wait wait. This is BIG news; HUGE news if it is true. Can we get some more confirmations? If so, I think we need to throw a party for everyone who posted comments to this entry. We were obviously instrumental in her being demoted back to the mailroom or ad sales where she should be seen and not heard.
Did We Depose The Droid?!
I, too, had gotten my hopes up, and then, I heard it. The voice. She's baaaack....
As I'm sure we're all aware, she's been back with a vengeance since early this week. I just love the way she says "pee-nest" for "pianist" in those current announcements. Was hoping against hope over the last few weeks that we had finally been heeded--and was absolutely reveling in how spectacular WNYC sounded sans her robo-tones every ten minutes--but clearly she has fans in high places at the station. Sigh.....
Wow. I can't believe I found this discussion. I commute to and from the city in my car and this woman's voice is the most irritating thing I've ever heard.
There are three components of her voice that are particularly grating, and unprofessional. They have nothing to do with the FCC guidelines for underwriting announcements:
* Her proximity to the microphone. She is eating it. Back off, sister.
* Her pronunciation. Whoever praised her earlier is on crack. "Dot Org" is repeatedly pronounced "Dot Ork". Words with consonants that run together are spread like peanut butter. "James Smith" becomes "Jameszzmith".
* The 'smile' in her voice.
Though I don't do it for a living, I have done enough voice-over work for this to drive me up the freaking wall. I mute my radio whenever her voice pops up. She's probably a very nice young woman, but please - put her back behind a computer.
One of the few blights I can find on an otherwise fantastic radio station.
I think she is an voice actress who does foreign accents as part of her repertoire.
i found a candidate on voice123 who lists wnyc in radio her experience.
I'm glad to find that I'm not alone in my inability to listen to this bizarre underwriting announcer.
It's gotten to the point that I mute the radio whenever she comes on, waiting a couple minutes before daring to listen again.
I used to skip over her on WNYC podcasts, but I've just given up and stopped listening to their podcasts, since there are so many others out there that I can choose instead.
I was a regular subscriber to public radio when I lived in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. In the eight years that I've lived in New York, however, I've stopped giving money to public radio. I just can't send money to a station that would force an announcer like that on its listeners.
I know it's not an FCC thing, because no other public radio station I've listened to has had anyone like her. She simply does not know how to speak on the radio.
The day she is gone from WNYC, I will give the biggest donation I can afford on the spot.
WNYC is set to take over WQXR. Will her grating tones be omnipresent on that station as well?
her hideous tones continue to dominate the wnyc airwaves. and if possible, she's even worse. i cannot listen to this station any more. i pray she won't be part of the new wqxr. I can't imagine sponsors want that voice to be representing their product. perhaps the only way is to contact the contributors.......
Absolutely atrocious! This woman is the bane of my aural existence and I'm happy to learn I'm not alone.
Besides what everyone else has already mentioned, the robotic down-beat. on each and every. single pause. is. enough to. drive me. insane.
AGGGHHHHHHH!
She seems to have added a babyish tone to her stylings, making her constant interruptions not only annoying, but downright demonic. Like Damien. Could she be someone's demented offspring?
My boyfriend found this post for me because of my constant complaining about this woman. I mute the radio every time she comes on!! I'm not sure if anyone has said something similar, but I think she sounds like she's holding her breath or something. And also she's sort of nasally...and I agree with the person who said she sounds hyper aware of her own voice. She sounds nice though, so I feel mean. But it is really driving me crazy...sorry nasally robot.
I hate that voice with every fiber of my being.
"That voice" is a quite extraordinary, nails-on-the-chalk board combination of overly miked, earnest, smug, and ignorant--except to the management of WNYC, which apparently thinks it is reaching some kind of meta-demographic of young, diverse hipster with "that voice" (NOT!)--meanwhile we all suffer/cringe/guffaw/turn down the radio (my preferred option when the dial is accessible), and it's such a shame because WNYC is such a treasure otherwise.
I heard "The Voice" in an old-school radio commercial "skit" yesterday on NPR. I forget what it was for but keep your ears open for it. It's hysterical.
Is this the voice of the 'datapipe.com' and, more recently, the Austria vacations spots?
I sort of fell on this thread because a friend of mine was amazed at how much "icky went in to the posts" about the underwritter for WNYC. My response: NO WAY! How can people hate someone without even knowing who they are, what their beliefs are, what they look like, etc. She could be a mother, or a teacher, or, well, anyone. BUT, I guess not having a face to put to the voice makes it much easier to make fun and critique someone. I've heard the old adage that there is a reason that people are in radio and not TV. I can say that the young woman you all despise so much is a kind, caring individual that never puts herself before others. If you know her personally, then fine, let it rip (but if you do know her, I assure you, you would have nothing but glowing things to say about her) but if not, find something more important to care about. Like maybe, oh...the things that the personalities actually talk about on the radio. I, however, have nothing but great things to say about her.
Ah, robot voice defender (or perhaps you are the Voice herself???). Please understand, we have no quarrel with the person behind the hideous voice. She (you?) may well possess those attributes you list so glowingly. But I think we can all agree that one essential quality for radio is a decent voice. And she (you?) has (have) an incredibly annoying speaking style. Grating, even. Dare I say maddening? Surely, a person with the sterling qualities you describe would not want to torment WNYC's listeners any further.
I want to echo the previous poster's comment. I don't think any of the complaints here are busting this announcer as a person - she is probably a lovely human being who is charitable, considerate and kind.
And that has nothing to do with the fact that she has no business announcing on the radio. See above for the complaints on her delivery. I wish her all the best in the world, but PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WNYC, TAKE HER OFF THE AIR!
I am a long-time WNYC listener. Does anyone remember the previous announcer? I do because some years ago when she was replaced by this current voice I was upset to hear her go. She was a voice of a strong, confident authoratative woman. Not a girl voice like this current one and she was neutral in a good way. It was really something. I was impressed with her quality as I'm a v.o. professional too.
I found this post when I googled WNYC underwriter announcer. I am so glad that I am not the only person who cannot stand the sound of this woman's voice. I have to turn the radio off during her announcements. My theory is that she must be responsible for corporate underwriting and securing underwriters. She can't be hired just to do the voice overs.
The effect of this girly's voice on my ears is the aural equivalent of digging a fingernail into my gums; delicious pain. Come on, you KNOW she's cute as hell. I think we cyber-stalkers ought to be ashamed that we can't figure out which deep, dark, deserted subway stop she frequents.
IMHO, all her cadences are the same--clipped and downbeat at the end of the sentence, repetitive, and lacking in variety with lots of dead sounding spots. It's really time for someone new.
Wow, Stumbled across this forum in searching for her identity, and I'm amazed at so many negative reactions!
I actually confess to having a huge radio crush on her lovely voice! I love the "smile" that other people perceive, and apparently despise...
I think of it as her "Mona Lisa voice"
WNYC lady, are you single? :-)
Somebody, please: Instead of pledging money to WNYC this go-round, offer the station your voice talents gratis. Gain great voice exposure, save the station some money, save listeners' sanity.
Count me in. Can't stand that creepily manic yet auto-piloted delivery, and I too rush to turn her down, and sometimes off, whenever she comes on -- seemingly every 3 minutes.
But I really hope that -- for all the jokey banter on this thread -- you guys are making a point of letting them know how seriously annoying you find her. At least 3 longtime listeners I know now refuse to tune-in because of her, so the station should know that she's actually become something of a liability for them.
I did donate this time around - just because aside from her, I do love the station and always give when I can.
That said, I have sent this thread to several of the hosts, several times but I have never heard anything back.
Maybe we should all start emailing them and cut pasting the link in the messages.
http://www.gothamcityinsider.com/2007/12/foiled-again-nprs-tweed-wall-of-silence.html
Will do. Thanks much for the shared venting outlet. And to think... here we all were, believing ourselves to be quite alone, going slowly bonkers in our own little auricular hell!
She has made only occasional appearances--perhaps one announcement per hour--for the last week and a half. What a blissful, aurally satisfying interlude, as the high quality of WNYC's programs have flowed unimpeded! Oh, that this might be the wave of the future!
YES!
GCI, seems like you finally managed to breach that Tweed Wall! We hereby collectively award you the Aerial Achievement Medal, Sir.
Uh-oh! Spoke too soon. She's back with a vengeance (sob).
She's baaaaaack.
Yep. Like a goddamn phoenix.
Dear fellow wall climbers - Be sure to let both the station and the community board know how unhappy you are that she's back:
listenerservices@wnyc.org
http://www.wnyc.org/about/cab/feedback/form
And if any of you can stand to listen to her long enough to compile the list (my own absolute limit is 2 delirious gushes before I hit 'mute'), we should warn their ill-served underwriters that she's causing us to tune them out.
Not only is she back, she seems to have spawned! There appears to be a second droid in the mix. I fear the worst----WNYC has been taken over. By aliens. Save yourselves!!
Someone must have either gotten her wet or fed her after midnight! aggghhh
She (they???) are worse than ever. Cannot listen to the station. Why won't they stop?
it is the same person who did the voice-over for that gevalia coffee tv ad 5 years ago.
The voice is worse than ever. Why, why, WHY????
Wow... I cannot believe out of all these comments, only 2-3 people like this woman's voice. Well, you can increase that number by one because I absolutely love it in every way!
I wish I had a "War and Peace" audio book with her voice... that would be heaven! I would listen to it every night before bed to put me in a relaxed mood.
FYI... I am NOT being sarcastic. I love this woman's voice and have also been trying to find out who she is. I hope we can find out soon to put an end to the mystery. I have to say that she really does sound a lot like Mary McKitrick. I wonder if there are legal reasons why Mary can't admit to it? Who knows...
Keep up the good work, WNYC voice lady! :)
I find this voice immensely provocative, and that may be the reason so many people have a reaction to it. It provokes an intimate organic response that either draws you in, or you are taken aback in an inexplicable way.
It's perhaps one of the most amazing voices on radio, and if my wife had this voice I would stare into her eyes just listening entranced without blinking, so as to not miss a moment of seeing those lips annunciate each word.
If this voice had a corresponding face, it would be that of an elegantly gorgeous model. She oozes charm that provokes the listener. It's both clinical and intimately sexy at the same time. She also seems to express a gladness for being in your presence, that implies a slight smile to her tone, while maintaining an approachable professionalism.
The voice sounds a lot like Mary McKitrick, and it could very likely be her, though why she would deny it seems perplexing if true. There may be legal reasons she cannot, before her contract is up. Maybe afterwards she can take full credit for this work. We'll have to wait and see.
Johann Rosario
Post a Comment