> Agreed. We could sing some nice close harmony on that topic,
> I bet. Just hearing the pissy, snide, and yet portentous
> tone of voice in which Robert Seagal says, "And I'm... ROBERT
> SEAGAL" sets my teeth on edge.
Dude gets paid about $300,000 a year for that crap, too.
Doug
Somebody: Why do NPR hosts uniformly talk in such an stilted, artificial, almost metallic manner? I notice that hosts in NPR affiliates often speak more naturally. Is it supposed to give them an air of stentorian authority or objective detachment? You see a slightly milder version of this on the PBS Newshour: the voice of androids dully intoning the voice of the establishment.
Moreover, there's an edge of irony and self-amusement in many NPR hosts, which is conveyed even when dealing with serious life-or-death matters like unemployment or foreign military interventions, which is extremely off-putting.
Having said all that, there's plenty of good programming on public radio; it just doesn't go by the name of Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Talk of the Nation.