tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post6885549040361692749..comments2024-01-19T11:46:53.109-04:00Comments on The World Needs A Stronger Blog...: Foiled Again: NPR's Tweed Wall Of SilenceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger168125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-7839228660353928122013-02-24T21:51:08.279-04:002013-02-24T21:51:08.279-04:00It's Lorraine Mattox, definitely. There's ...It's Lorraine Mattox, definitely. There's a voiceover demo reel on her IMDB profile.<br /><br />MOST. ANNOYING. VOICE. EVER.cornellcrawfordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-1193800309409071022013-02-15T15:00:17.235-04:002013-02-15T15:00:17.235-04:00You found her! It is completely her.
http://voice...You found her! It is completely her. <br />http://voice123.com/lorrainemattox<br /><br />The smiling baby robot is human!<br /><br />Man, can't she get an acting job or something to get the hell of WNYC? I told my girlfriend about how LM hurts my brain. At first the girl said "She has a nice voice". After several more readers in the hour my gal said "Arrrrrgh, she's terrible!"<br /><br />I wish there was the equivalent of DVRs that bypass commercials as I can't always get to the radio fast enough to turn her off. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh she's on again right now. BKNY JCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-28823159444649370892013-01-30T21:15:23.769-04:002013-01-30T21:15:23.769-04:00I just spent a week in Miami, including some long ...I just spent a week in Miami, including some long days listening to their NPR station (WLRN). I had completely forgot what it is like to listen hour after hour to pleasant voices and not have the urge--the NEED--to jump up and shut it off, the way I do at least 4 times hourly for WNYC. I keep a remote control in my hand whenever I listen in New York. <br /><br />That woman's voice makes me want to throw plates at the wall. I have called her horrible things I have never called anyone, loudly and repeatedly, until she stops talking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-84284971965205844522013-01-30T21:14:30.962-04:002013-01-30T21:14:30.962-04:00I just spent a week in Miami, including some long ...I just spent a week in Miami, including some long days listening to their NPR station (WLRN). I had completely forgot what it is like to listen hour after hour to pleasant voices and not have the urge--the NEED--to jump up and shut it off, the way I do at least 4 times hourly for WNYC. I keep a remote control in my hand whenever I listen in New York. <br /><br />That woman's voice makes me want to throw plates at the wall. I have called her horrible things I have never called anyone, loudly and repeatedly, until she stops talking.<br /><br />I REALLY wish the station would do something. It's THAT bad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-78291229301264081062013-01-27T21:38:14.751-04:002013-01-27T21:38:14.751-04:00First, thank you for identifying the source of the...First, thank you for identifying the source of the mystery voice that has intrigued me for years.<br /><br />It's surprising that you focus your annoyance on the announcer, who is clearly performing precisely to spec. It think it's more the spec which you find disturbing, which beyond the performance seems to include a postprocessed temporal compression of the gaps between words, in order to present the maximum material in the minumum time period. When you occasionally hear her without this compression, she sounds quite human indeed.<br /><br />One other point: it would be a mistake to interpret the concentration of criticism in this blog to be representative of the larger population, as blogs tend to accumulate the disaffected.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12577013405467424614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-18688122403522720362013-01-05T23:05:05.489-04:002013-01-05T23:05:05.489-04:00It is Lorraine Mattox. Check out her IMDB page. Sh...It is Lorraine Mattox. Check out her IMDB page. She's an actress who grew up in Florida with parents who emigrated from Peru. If you check out her audio reel, you'll see that she can actually speak like a human being. Whatever the problem is, it seems to have more to do with the direction or lack thereof that she's getting when she records these announcements. Someone needs to seriously explain the copy to her. It's not just a string of words to be enunciated properly (even there she fails often to do that).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-57533759705497639552013-01-04T16:31:01.190-04:002013-01-04T16:31:01.190-04:00She's on the Verizon am radio commercial now p...She's on the Verizon am radio commercial now post sandy annoying voice close mic talker pronounces "o" like a black or asian with big clicking lips, like the word "skoo" can't quite say school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-12480957737719331442012-12-04T16:21:01.066-04:002012-12-04T16:21:01.066-04:00Well, I guess I'm in the minority on this one....Well, I guess I'm in the minority on this one. I simply love this woman's voice. I crave it. I stop everything I'm doing when I hear her speak. Her perfect pronunciation is to die for. I'd like to meet her and I'd pay her very well to have her read the telephone book to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-18785662417193170732012-11-13T21:47:14.377-04:002012-11-13T21:47:14.377-04:00Her 'voice made for print' has bugged me f...Her 'voice made for print' has bugged me for years, but mostly because I struggle to hear a clear indicator of human vs machine. <br /><br />The comments about retained speech impediments make me wonder if some of the over-pronunciation and unnatural cadence could be the result of coping with other challenges.<br /><br />I guess I don't find her anywhere near as annoying as the smarmy voice that comes on at the end of This American Life and other programs distributed by "PEE ARE EYE Public Radio International" - that guy drives me up a wall ... am I the only one?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-37996838560630082142012-11-13T21:46:00.931-04:002012-11-13T21:46:00.931-04:00This 'voice made for print' has bugged me ...This 'voice made for print' has bugged me for years, but mostly because I struggle to hear a clear indicator of human vs machine. <br /><br />The comments about retained speech impediments make me wonder if some of the over-pronunciation and unnatural cadence could be the result of coping with other challenges.<br /><br />I guess I don't find her anywhere near as annoying as the smarmy voice that comes on at the end of This American Life and other programs distributed by "PEE ARE EYE Public Radio International" - that guy drives me up a wall ... am I the only one?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-50101704434360169902012-11-13T21:45:18.883-04:002012-11-13T21:45:18.883-04:00This 'voice made for print' has bugged me ...This 'voice made for print' has bugged me for years, but mostly because I struggle to hear a clear indicator of human vs machine. <br /><br />The comments about retained speech impediments make me wonder if some of the over-pronunciation and unnatural cadence could be the result of coping with other challenges.<br /><br />I guess I don't find her anywhere near as annoying as the smarmy voice that comes on at the end of This American Life and other programs distributed by "PEE ARE EYE Public Radio International" - that guy drives me up a wall ... am I the only one?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-33135936535150598952012-10-13T09:04:36.129-04:002012-10-13T09:04:36.129-04:00That voice is the reason, the ONLY reason, I stopp...That voice is the reason, the ONLY reason, I stopped listening to WNYC. I used to listen to it all the time, and now I simply don't, because of that voice. I'd tried other remedies: at the gym, for instance, I would have my headphones on and I'd play a little game - as soon as I heard the "Support for WNYC comes from" I would go for the volume control on the little radio strapped to my arm in order to cut off the voice from my headphones before the actual name of the sponsor was spoken. That was my little way of "punishing" them for subjecting listeners to that intolerable sound and cadence. Eventually, though, even that was insufficient, and I simply "fired" WNYC from my life. And, in the end, I'm happier for it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-32534467892934762672012-10-12T22:16:20.220-04:002012-10-12T22:16:20.220-04:00She is not a robot. She is painfully human—painful...She is not a robot. She is painfully human—painful to my ears and my sensibilities, at least. She is definitely too close to the mic—we should not hear the release of every single word-final consonant, especially those vile, nauseous, bilabial plosive releases…but we do! Her voice is both breathy and nasal, though variably so, as is clear when her recordings are edited together into a string, this variation being a dead giveaway that the voice is pure affectation. Interestingly, breathiness and nasality induce comparable acoustic effects: a low-frequency prominence (related to timbre, not pitch). What’s worse is that all her breath intakes have been edited out, making the whole ordeal of listening to her even more unbearable. My emails to WNYC pleading to switch her to a desk job have gone unanswered. I should emphasize that my distaste for the acoustic assault that is her voice is not a case of “familiarity breeds contempt”: Lisa Ledin does the station breaks at KAZU in Monterey, California (near to where I used to live), and her voice is a sheer delight: bright and fresh and clear, and yes, with a pleasant hint of a smile which is acoustically cued by a slight rise in the second vowel formant. I always loved it when she came on the air!<br /><br />So, I can tell you the “what” by readily quantifying the spectral properties of her voice; it’s my field of study. Were I better versed in evolutionary biology, perhaps I could offer a “why” as well: why does her voice evoke such a primitive flight response?<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-3105200800381415972012-08-04T10:30:37.716-04:002012-08-04T10:30:37.716-04:00[I think it's really funny that to post on thi...[I think it's really funny that to post on this board, you have to type in the displayed words, to--wait for it--PROVE YOU'RE NOT A ROBOT!)<br /><br />Why doesn't the robot lady have to prove it?? Maybe she should be locked out of the recording studio if she can't prove it on a daily basis?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-81122503168325979132012-08-04T10:28:34.763-04:002012-08-04T10:28:34.763-04:00Oh well. She's still there. Fun to word search...Oh well. She's still there. Fun to word search this set of comments for "up the wall" or "brick". Misery loves company.<br /><br />I've written the station on those couple of short breaks where we thought she was gone, in order to tell them when they were doing something RIGHT. But they replied that she was just on break, and coming back. And she came back.<br /><br />She's awful awful awful.<br /><br />Like some have suggested, I'm contacting some of the underwriters (TechServ, some of the not-for-profits) to see if they can pressure the station to at least put some other announcers into the rotation. <br /><br />Just to be able to have 1 hour of Morning Edition with a max of 2 or 3 of her spots would be heaven!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-43449109542715067782012-07-18T15:33:52.722-04:002012-07-18T15:33:52.722-04:00Recently, theyve been using the male announcer (a...Recently, theyve been using the male announcer (also robotic, but minus the extreme creep factor and the maddening poppping p's). I started getting my hopes up, only to have them cruelly dashed when I heard those dreaded tones....and once again, the mad dash to turn the radio off!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-69115377735088746642012-06-13T15:16:15.501-04:002012-06-13T15:16:15.501-04:00I somehow suspected I wasn't the only one suff...I somehow suspected I wasn't the only one suffering from "the voice" for what seems like an eternity. I also rush to mute the radio whenever I hear it, but it still haunts me. <br /><br />As much as I enjoy many of WNYC's programs, I'm appaled at the sound of the artificially sweetened, mechanical voice that was likely created to appeal to a demographic audience. Perhaps one day we'll all be freed from this ongoing horror!Nick Caputohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096100224095280865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-54446809825541664412012-05-23T16:03:46.876-04:002012-05-23T16:03:46.876-04:00I found this page from my own search for WNYC unde...I found this page from my own search for WNYC underwriting announcer, being somewhat curious. Now, however, seeing all this invective about her way of speaking, I can certainly understand the station not wanting to give out her name. Gangs might gather with torches outside her home, demanding that she move further from the mic, and avoid the "annoying smile" in her tone. I, for one, find her voice pleasant, and quietly understated compared to the stronger voices who do the actual news and other programming. If WNYC is paying attention to this blog, I'd send them a compliment for keeping her on. If they want, they could have a couple other voices announcing underwriters just to give some of these disgruntled listeners a break, but I think she hits it about right, in a fairly thankless task. The obsessive complainers should just get a life - it's no big deal. Now, I'll move on and do the same.rbrbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-21295916453875463142012-05-13T21:05:42.688-04:002012-05-13T21:05:42.688-04:00Well, that was a nice break. Unfortunately, she...Well, that was a nice break. Unfortunately, she's back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-87919946413554628272012-05-02T19:41:27.949-04:002012-05-02T19:41:27.949-04:00My favorite is the way her voice drops to end the ...My favorite is the way her voice drops to end the sentence after the first item on a list, as if there were a period there instead of a comma. Then she picks up with the rest of the list as if she's reading a new sentence. She also murders the pronunciation of some of the sponsors' names. I amazed that WNEW can get the sponsors to renew. Her Hispanic pronunciation is impeccable, delivered with relish and what seems like relief. My guess is she's a Latino. On the plus side, her natural tone quality is beautiful, if it could be trained by someone who knows how to read a line.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-37378058024131189892012-05-01T17:44:19.299-04:002012-05-01T17:44:19.299-04:00Seems like a new voice is in training. Won't s...Seems like a new voice is in training. Won't say that Lorraine is gone for good but enjoy the respite.rucb_alumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-44993844994264065012012-04-27T19:53:30.237-04:002012-04-27T19:53:30.237-04:00but . . . she's . . . GONE!
and the new voice...but . . . she's . . . GONE!<br /><br />and the new voice doesn't say "DYE-VERSE" for "diverse." So whatever else she does, I may forgive her.<br /><br />Am I wrong? Has she just had some coaching so that she now sounds like a different person? Has another pod burst, launching forth another alien clone?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-6250583043193469562012-04-25T00:55:12.340-04:002012-04-25T00:55:12.340-04:00No joke: I think they may have finally dumped her ...No joke: I think they may have finally dumped her as the underwriting announcer. Today I was commuting in and EVERY single underwriting announcement was either A) a different woman doing the announcements or B) a COMPLETELY different EQ and mic placement/choice for the same person, who must have received major league elocution lessons.<br /><br />I'm going with A. It really does seem different enough that I suspect they've made a change; particularly because the appeal to underwrite programs on WNYC by contacting the corporate giving director was also with the new voice.<br /><br />Anybody else notice this??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-77966120238996022012012-03-24T16:54:09.512-04:002012-03-24T16:54:09.512-04:00right up your alley:
The NPR Name Song:
http://you...right up your alley:<br />The NPR Name Song:<br />http://youtu.be/3T1z6RH1Sq4Jaxonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08021675919043401227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6826049717571987418.post-54002342332489695422012-02-29T12:08:18.934-04:002012-02-29T12:08:18.934-04:00Lorraine Mattox's voice and I am convinced tha...Lorraine Mattox's voice and I am convinced that this voice belongs to Lorraine) can now also be heard on some of the promo spots produced for WFMU/91.1 in Jersey City.<br /><br />This is either a boon or a bust depending on your point of view. <br /><br />I think it's a plus. The mechanics of her promo recordings have changed. Fewer clicks and pops but the clear timber and diction that we all love and hate. Way fewer creative pronunciations, too.<br /><br />This is rucb_alum, again. The validation schema wouldn't take my responses so I couldn't use my standard ID.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com