Different Radio Genre

I enjoyed our latest Broadcast Speech project.  Everyone picked a different radio station genre to evaluate.  It was very interesting to compare the different announcer's styles.  I selected classical music.  In 2007, Arbitron stated there were only 300 classical radio stations nationwide.  Classical radio station announcers have three requirements which include: have knowledgeable background of the music, know music theory, and know several languages.  The stations play portions of opera and symphony music.  With the low numbers of stations and the length of songs played, I found it difficult to find a sampling of a classical radio announcer.

The project required us to record ourselves as the announcer for the genre we selected.  Everyone did such a great job representing their specific format.  Classical, News, and Gospel station announcers have similar styles.  They have a more authoritative, formal voice with a stereo sound.  Classical announcers have to know more trivia about the composers and how to properly pronounce their names.  The Rock, Oldies, and Country station announcers seem to have a closer connection with their audience by having contests and song requests.  They also can be more creative and have more freedom to ad lib and add color to their announcing.   Everyone represented their genre of music very good and captured the character of the announcer for each.

I prefer the Oldies radio station and dj's over the classical, gospel, and news.  They appear more personable and relaxed.  With my age I can relate to the music.  With new technology, digital is changing the way radio is being broadcast.  The internet has more music, less talk.  Satellite radio opens more stations and offers a broader choice for the listener and more competition for the radio dj.

Interview Listening

Interview listenting is a process that requires work for most people.   In conversations, we get anxious about our thoughts or experiences on the particular topic or even a topic we want to share and want to input. I find that it is an area that I need to stay focused on and continuously improve on.  When in conversation, I am always waiting for a pause and ready to interject my thoughts.  I have found that I am very anxious and when the person I am in conversation with talks slow or has a lot of pauses, I take that opportunity to input my thoughts.  I have three sisters and when we get together we get excited and want to share our stories,  it takes great patience to listen and wait your turn, especially for me.  I tend to be the "talker" too much and have realized this over the last several years.  Now that I am aware of it, I concentrate and actively focus on listening and keeping my mind on the subject of conversation.

The class exercise to sit quietly for one minute and listen to the other classmate talk was difficult for me.  Upon doing this, I realize that I have a need to at least interject a "yes" or "no" feedback or simple comment, just to let the other person know I am tuned in to the conversation.  I wanted to ask questions about the topic of conversation.

Being a detailed person, I am always asking questions and curious about the details of the topic of conversation or other subjects. Listenting is an art and requires me to be actively aware of my conversations and is a constant work in progress.  I have found it makes a more pleasant environment when I listen more and talk less.

Television Commercials vs. Radio Commercials

Television commercials always have background music that intensifies throughout the commercial.  Also television commercials can draw their audience in by offering a lot of emotion and visuals whereas radio must draw a picture in words.  Visuals from television commercials include a lot of graphic overlays that keep your attention.  Depending on the product, the commercial on television can make more of an impact by playing on the emotions of the viewer.  For instance, a chanel perfume commercial was very sensual with romantic music to create an environment that we desire and thus temp you to buy the product.  Another commercial for McDonald's chicken nuggets focused on a group of young people feasting on the nuggets and as one of them was talking the others ate all of the nuggets, and it was a situation most young people could relate to - a fun loving time with humor.  Radio doesn't have the luxury of enticing us with all the visuals.  The commercial on radio was more exaggerated audio with background sound effects and music.

Interviews

Even though I have done many interviews in several of my Broadcasting classes, I still have picked up on many different techniques that will make for a better interview.  After going to a conference last week I realized how much the speaker or the person doing the interview plays a large role in the interest of the audience.  There are many details to consider when either doing an interview or speech.  The way you project your voice and your facial expressions, hand gestures, and especially your tone and dynamics in your voice.  Smiling and responding to your guests' responses makes for a much better interview. 

I experienced different speakers last week at a conference.  The morning started out with dynamic speakers that really kept your attention.  They had a lot of emotion and expressions.  However, that afternoon speakers began like a slow moving train.  The first speaker after lunch had a very soft spoken voice and didn't have the emotions as the morning speakers.  The next speaker was very low key, kind of monotone, and it was very difficult to stay focused, especially after you had just returned from lunch, which is when your body tries to tell you it wants a nap.  That would be a much better time to have a dynamic speaker. 

In public speaking when we were trying to choose our topics for our speeches, we were told not to worry about getting material the audience will be interested in, that there no boring topics, just boring speakers.
This puts it in perspective.  You as the host or speaker have the responsibility to connect with your audience.
I know there are many more opportunites to learn different techniques and I look forward to moving forward and applying these.

Newscast

Brigida Mack is news anchor for WBTV-TV.  She was nominated for an emmy in 2004 and has won many awards in Creative Loafing magazine under "Best of Charlotte" section. She came from WSOC.  Brigida enjoys watching Tar Heel basketball, working out, traveling and spending time with family and friends.

On Tuesday I watched the news on WBTV with Brigida Mack.  Her presentation is always very professional but at times she talks with too many pauses in my opinion. Sentences come across as poor pausing techniques. I guess this is a good thing because it allows her to have inflection in her voice by taking her time and paying attention to her speech.  Her tone was not as dramatic as most news anchors.  She comes across to me as just a normal news anchor, whereas, so many add color to their newscast to draw you into the stories.  I would much rather have her professionalism than the news anchors that try to be humerous and get so dramatic.  For instance, Eric Thomas, when he does the weather.  He is definitely one that adds color to his presentations.  He has a lot of inflection and use of tone, a very dramatic presentation, especially when there is exciting weather like tornadoes, hurricanes, etc that he gets to use his new technology.  Interesting point about someone that adds the dramatic aspect, will always be remembered more than the anchor that tends to sway more to the monotone area.

Announcer Profile

Although I don't see Billy Graham as an announcer, he is at the top of my list of favorites.  Working at BGEA I saw firsthand a closer look at his life and commitment to his beliefs. He was very careful not to ever put himself in a questionable position.  He definitely was a motivational speaker with great impact as he changed and influenced so many people of the world and his ministry still is changing lives today.

Of course, I like mine, Harry Smith.  He always comes across very professional and relaxed.  

Dane Cook and Glen Beck are two I would put at the top of my list also.  They are very colorful in their expressions and performances.  Dane Cook has an exceptional ability to draw a mental picture and put you right in the story.  He has great eye contact with his audience.  Glen Beck uses such drama and creativity to draw you in to his statistics and data you can't help but watch.   It will be interesting to see how successful he will be on radio because he won't have the luxury of all the props and media he used on television. (Trey had a very good presentation of Dane Cook)

I do like most sports announcers as they tend to show a lot of excitement.  Stuart Scott and his famous catch phrases create an entertaining as well as informative atmosphere which draws in his audience.  Will did a great presentation, well rehearsed and knowledgeable of his subject.

Jay Leno and Jon Stuart are two I don't really care for.  I do not care to listen to negative people bashing.  I know in politics it is popular to trash your opponents or the "other party", but I do not care for that.  It does not benefit anyone and I personally think there is much better material for comedy than constantly degrading people just for a laugh.  I try to stay away from negative as much as possible. I did find it interesting that Jay Leno built his career on personal experience and that his 5th grade teacher said if he were a comedian, he would be a star.

Lastly, didn't care for Dick Cavett either.  Video clip didn't really show me enough of Dick Cavett, it focused more on his guest.  He really didn't seem to have control of his show. Maybe I would have a different opinion if I knew more about him. I have never watched his shows.

Interesting array of different announcers.  Each one has their own unique way to connect with their audience, some more colorful than others.  It takes many different personalities and approaches, and knowing your audience will determine your success.

Broadcast Challenges

In summary, the most challenging skill I will face in broadcast speech will be my southern accent and my posture.  I tend to slump and not be in the best physical condition.  My southern accent is very strong and I never realize it until I hear myself on video.  My perfectionist attitude and determination to complete a project sometimes can be more of a hindrance than an advantage because I end up spending too much time on my projects and making them late.  I look forward to working on these skills and getting that southern accent a little less noticable.