How early-career public radio journalists learn to shape their on-air voices

How do on-air journalists learn about expectations for self-presentation? That’s one of the central questions I take up in my new book Performing the News: Identity, Authority, and the Myth of Neutrality (Rutgers University Press).

Over the last several years, I interviewed dozens of current and former journalists from historically marginalized groups about how they became aware of news industry norms for voice and appearance. Many had publicly discussed the pressure they felt to speak with a “neutral” accent, tone down their delivery, dress conventionally and maintain a consistent appearance. Some had reflected on their decision to challenge these restrictive norms. Yet prior to our conversations, I knew little about what had led them to downplay aspects of their identity, known as covering.

Expectedly, the public radio journalists I interviewed were influenced by producers, news directors and others who advised them on vocal presentation. What surprised me was how many of these journalists sensed the need to cover even before they began their careers. They learned about what sounds authoritative in college classes, at internships and while applying for jobs. In many cases, they learned about performance expectations through observation.

A college journalist who worked at a public radio station on her campus recalled a host toning down her accent and women of color changing their delivery to fit in with the station’s dominant sound. A journalist who started as an NPR intern said that early-career journalists — particularly those with accents — counted themselves out from on-air positions. “With the NPR voice, people kind of know if they have it or if they don’t,” she said. Those in the latter category assumed that “this isn’t going to be my path because I don’t sound like what I hear on the radio.”

Some young journalists tried to imitate the voices they heard. One who grew up in a bilingual household and was used to code-switching felt the need to sound white to succeed in public radio. “I wanted to sound like a real, serious NPR newscaster,” the journalist said, “so I mimicked the way people spoke on the radio.” Another journalist said she did such a convincing impression of former All Things Considered co-host Melissa Block that her friends did not recognize her on air. Several who work in narrative audio recalled a time when seemingly everyone was trying to sound conversational like This American Life’s Ira Glass. “All these imitators popped up because that’s what people associated with success,” a former producer said. 

The voices journalists imitate have changed over time. But as several interviewees noted, those voices have primarily been white. That might be changing, however, as journalists from diverse backgrounds increasingly take on high-profile hosting roles and are “changing the sound of public radio,” as a recent Current article said of NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe.

“If you talk to young reporters now and say, ‘Whose voice do you hear in your head when you try and deliver a script or are talking off the cuff?’ you’re probably not going to hear [former All Things Considered co-host] Robert Siegel,” a longtime audio journalist and trainer told me.

Which led me to wonder: Whose voices do journalists hear? What interactions and experiences outside the newsroom have shaped their on-air presentation? Many of the journalists who answered these questions for my book were mid-career and no longer worked in public radio. 

To get a different perspective, I reached out to journalists who more recently started in public radio. Fifteen reporters, producers and multimedia journalists from 13 stations across the country responded. Their ages range from 23 to 36, and they have between one and six years of public radio experience.

Included below are my questions, a summary of their written responses and representative quotes, in some cases edited for brevity and clarity. I offered journalists confidentiality so they wouldn’t feel the need to self-censor. Demographic information is provided for context.

When did you first start thinking about your on-air voice and delivery?

Most journalists started doing so before they began their first jobs — often while training in school and at internships. Some waited a bit longer to start thinking seriously about their vocal presentation.

I started thinking about it the first time I was told [at my internship] to go record something for our broadcast. … I remember feeling like I was thrown into the deep end.

White female multimedia journalist

I started thinking about my on-air voice when I was applying for my first public radio job. I hadn’t heard a lot of trans people on the radio, and I began searching for trans radio journalists to get a sense for how they sounded and to find some models.

White transgender/nonbinary reporter

As a producer on a daily talk show, my first job in public radio, I got comfortable with hearing our host’s voice in my ear as I wrote scripts for him. Transitioning to writing for my own voice — and figuring out what that was — took some time.

White female reporter

[Before transitioning to radio journalism,] I had never considered what my “news voice” would sound like. I didn’t hate the sound of my voice, but I was uncertain about what it should sound like. … I tried different voices and different ways of delivery, trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t.

Latina reporter/producer

The first time I ever thought about it was my first day on the job. … I was worried at first as a Black queer woman that my voice wouldn’t sound “white enough” to be understood. I definitely had to code-switch to find my on-air voice, and my editors have told me I have one of the best voices at our station. 

Black female/nonbinary reporter/producer

Who or what was influential in your thinking about how public radio journalists should sound? Do any interactions or experiences before getting hired come to mind?  

Some journalists recalled interactions in student news labs or at internships with mentors who coached them on how to sound natural, slow down and speak up when they track. No one mentioned feeling pressured to hide aspects of their identity. One journalist was influenced by societal norms for how women should sound.

In my teenage years, I was self-conscious about having a voice that sometimes sounded low and gruff. I was told my voice wasn’t “feminine.” But I also realized over the years that women aren’t always taken as seriously when they have higher voices. I don’t believe journalists should feel pressured to conform to gender norms or alter their voices. I don’t speak in a pitch that feels unnatural to me. But I think subconsciously I’ve learned to regulate my voice — on and off air — so that it’s not too “masculine” or too “feminine.” I think my voice is gentler now, because people expect me to be gentle.

Asian female reporter 

Most journalists said that listening to public radio had the greatest influence. Some sensed the need to adopt “public radio voice,” while others were reassured that they could speak more naturally.

“Even before I could understand what [NPR] stories were about, I could recognize that the voices on the radio held a certain authority.”

White female multimedia journalist

Before I got my first radio job I would listen to NPR, and I got the sense that there was a “radio voice.” Everyone’s delivery was very smooth and calm and evenly paced, and I felt that sometimes the journalists sounded interchangeable. Then, when I got my first job, I noticed some colleagues spoke differently when they weren’t on air, that they had separate “radio voices.”  I felt like I had to have a radio voice, too, and that it might not necessarily feel natural.

Asian female reporter

When I first got hired at a radio station, I observed how hosts at NPR and my own workplace “did their radio voice.” I heard jokes about NPR broadcasters always sounding “slightly uninterested” or monotone, so I tried that for a while. My own news director said that I should deliver the news like I’m talking to a friend, and that radio broadcasters don’t face as much pressure to “do a news voice.”

Latina reporter/producer

Through listening to NPR long before I worked in audio journalism, I would hear Diane Rehm and Terry Gross and thought that was the “radio” sound, particularly for news. … I noticed in the early 2000s that there weren’t that many noted, revered Black radio hosts. Subconsciously, a white Midwestern accent was used on most news programs. … This American Life, Car Talk and even Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! felt more novel and niche, so it wasn’t something that I thought I should emulate when I entered the field. As I got in public radio, I think seeing a bunch of on-air personalities be themselves opened the box of who and what sound is allowed on air.

African American female reporter

Like so many radio reporters, I’m a devotee of This American Life, and this was more influential than, say, NPR magazine show hosts who I felt I couldn’t hear myself in.

Asian female reporter

I grew up listening to [commercial radio] in my parents’ car. … [The hosts] often sounded like they were advertising rather than reading the news, which was initially how I thought everyone sounded on the radio. I remember the first time I heard NPR in a friend’s car thinking, “Wow, they sound so much more like real people.” This American Life is the audio program I’ve listened to most, so Ira Glass and his team influenced my understanding of the tone and type of voice to expect in a podcast.

White transgender/nonbinary reporter

Others were influenced by podcast hosts such as Serial’s Sarah Koenig. A reporter who used to obsess over her pitch and inflection and kept a “mistake log” to track her errors was reassured listening to a female podcast host who critiqued other podcasts but refused to be critical of women’s voices.

Which public radio journalist(s) have you tried to emulate, and what did you admire about their voice and delivery?

Several audio journalists who don’t work in public radio made the list, including the creator and host of a true crime podcast and a bestselling author turned podcaster. So, too, did a few media figures outside of radio, including a prominent food writer and a beloved conservationist. Listed below are current and former public radio journalists and those who are occasional contributors. The group is demographically diverse and includes many household names from NPR.  

Adrian Florido and Sandhya Dirks, NPR correspondents. “Their delivery was almost quiet, measured, approachable. I also identified with having a voice that tends to crack or break — and appreciated hearing little imperfections in their voices. I often report on science and have tried to bring enthusiasm and wonder into my delivery for those pieces; Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser of Radiolab were influential in that respect.”

Asian female reporter

David Folkenflik, NPR correspondent. “He sounds like he’s just chatting with the listener. … I really appreciate journalists who sound like their everyday self when they are reporting. … I’ve long found that Asma Khalid does this. She’s just really easy to listen to. I’d say the same thing about Sarah McCammon, too.”

White male reporter

Diane Rehm, host of the Diane Rehm: On My Mind podcast, and Korva Coleman, NPR newscaster. “I don’t think it was their voices that specifically drew me to them but their professionalism and the way they carried themselves that I admired.”

White female reporter

Jenn White, host of 1A. “I noticed Jenn listens more than interjects but does not shy from offering a differing opinion.” Also, Greta Johnsen, former host/producer of the WBEZ podcast Nerdette. “She has a lot of fun diving into geeky, nerdy things and leading with enthusiasm.”

African American female reporter

Kate Payne, former WLRN reporter. “Her on-air delivery, which I found to be authoritative, conversational, lively and always imbued with compassion and empathy, is exactly what I hope to sound like someday.”

Hispanic/white female reporter

Kojo Nnamdi, host of The Politics Hour With Kojo Nnamdi on WAMU in Washington, D.C. “His delivery felt natural and distinctive and somehow always kind. …When I’m interviewing someone, I always try to channel Mary Louise Kelly’s poise, which she somehow maintains without detracting from her ability to change tone and be silly or curious. … I really admired WAMU’s former environment reporter Jacob Fenston. His writing for air and voicing always flowed so beautifully. … I tried to study how he inflected different phrases and how he set himself up for success doing so by writing conversationally.”

White female reporter 

Lakshmi Singh, NPR midday newscaster. “The way she delivers the news feels like a good balance of your stereotypical news anchor voice and a friend speaking to you personally. She sometimes pauses or has a certain inflection that seems to make her anchoring briefly poetic, personal and touching. … Like Singh, I try to strike a balance between a delivery that feels anchor-y and one that feels like your friend just told you the news.”

Latina reporter/producer

Masha Gessen is the first trans/nonbinary reporter I’ve listened to in a longform capacity. Their story “Eight Fights” on This American Life helped me think about how I could use a matter-of-fact tone in a personal way. Their pauses are something I’ve thought about emulating. Laine Kaplan-Levenson (host, Embedded: All the Only Ones) is another person I’ve tried to emulate. But because I’m usually doing shorter-form stories, I think the voices in my head most often are [NPR’s] Steve Inskeep, Ari Shapiro and Leila Fadel. Inskeep’s easy laugh is fun to listen to, and I admire the way he can switch between serious and joking/joyful quickly. In Shapiro’s voice, I hear a subtle, purposeful vocal fry and well-placed register changes that make me think of the way me and my friends sound when we’re chatting. On him it sounds professional but also like he’s winking a little at listeners, which I appreciate and often try to emulate. I think Fadel asks questions with empathy in her voice but without sounding like she’s acting, which I also try to emulate.”

White transgender/nonbinary reporter

Noel King, co-host and editorial director, Today, Explained. “One of my earlier editors told me that I had an intonation similar to [hers]. From then on, I tried to emulate her cadence and inflection. You can tell she takes her subjects seriously without taking herself too seriously.”

White female reporter

Terry Gross, co-host of Fresh Air. “I like her delivery because it is so conversational and doesn’t feel like she’s reading off a script. As I’ve tried to develop my radio voice, I have tried to keep my delivery warm and conversational, instead of what I sometimes feel is a bad habit of broadcasting, which is when it gets too pretentious.”

White female multimedia journalist

Zoe Chace, This American Life producer. “She sounds like your cool cousin letting you in on some juicy family gossip. Her delivery is consistent, informal and subtly gripping. She also made it feel OK to sound how you sound and lean into the idiosyncrasies of my own voice.” 

White male reporter

Which other public radio journalists who you haven’t tried to emulate do you think sound great and why?

Again, a few non–public radio journalists made the list, most notably The Daily’s Michael Barbaro (twice). Kelly, Inskeep and other NPR hosts reappeared, and different names were mentioned, included Ailsa Chang. 

Ari Shapiro, co-host of All Things Considered. “Ari is fun, and his curiosity will lead a conversation, but he’s on it and I take a lot out of his style. … I got really into Brittany Luse when she hosted For Colored Nerds.”

African American female reporter

Asma Khalid, NPR correspondent and co-host of The NPR Politics Podcast.“You can hear warmth and humanity when she speaks. You can hear that friendliness in her cadence.”

White female reporter

Ayesha Rascoe, Weekend Edition host. “When she asks people questions, I feel like she’s connecting with them. It feels like I am listening to something real and honest. … I also love listening to Alt.Latino. I think Felix Contreras and Anamaria Artemisa Sayre both have a really comforting on-air presence. Their humor and the gentle vulnerability in their voices really helps me feel like I’m part of the conversation and making a connection, rather than just listening in my own world.”

White transgender/nonbinary reporter

Cathy Wurzer, Morning Edition and Minnesota Now host, Minnesota Public Radio. “Cathy has a beautiful warm tone that I only wish I could emulate.”

White male reporter

Juana Summers, co-host of All Things Considered. “She has a very soothing voice that puts you at ease and provides a layer of comfort when she has to deliver really tough news.”

Latina reporter/producer  

Laura Pellicer, formerly of WUNC. “She sounds both conversational and professional when voicing her pieces.”

White male reporter

Sam Sanders, host of the Vulture podcast Into It. “I loved his delivery on It’s Been a Minute. … He just always sounded so casual and approachable, and he wasn’t afraid to use slang or humor to get the point across. … Listening to Rascoe in her White House correspondent days was also really formative; her delivery was so direct, confident and clear, and I think she’s done a lot to expand what an “NPR voice” sounds like. It made it less intimidating for me a few years later when I got into the field myself and was trying to figure out what I sound like.”

White female reporter

Sarah McCammon, NPR correspondent and co-host of The NPR Politics Podcast, and Shumita Basu, Apple News Today host/editor. “I think both of them convey such warmth in their reporting, and I’m still grateful that they took the time to speak with me so early in my career [about how they found their radio voices].”

White female reporter

Todd Melby, newscaster, Minnesota Public Radio. “I love that he sounds conversational, friendly and doesn’t overcomplicate the news. … Also, Euan Kerr, regional editor, MPR. “He was the one who coached me through my first package and was kind of enough to feed me lines when I sounded like a robot.”

Asian female reporter

Have you had any memorable experiences with voice coaches or other advisers who shaped your on-air presentation?

Several journalists said they had never received voice coaching. Those who had generally had positive experiences and said they were encouraged to be themselves.  

Once, I was at a group voice training session at Report for America, and the discussion turned to whether people with “accents” should be speaking differently to sound more “American.” The coach told us no, that we should all bring our authentic selves to the mic. I never changed my accent for radio, but it was empowering to hear it explicitly stated by a seasoned radio journalist that we didn’t have to sound like someone else or conform to a particular “white” American way of speaking.

Asian female reporter

I think I’ve been lucky. No one (perhaps apart from a few listener emails) has ever tried to change the way I sound on air. The training and conversations I’ve had about voicing have mostly been framed as a way for me to discover my own voice and how I want to sound. (That said, I don’t have a particularly strong accent or other obvious vocal differences from what a lot of public radio journalists sound like, so that may be the reason.)

White female reporter

I went to my now-boss one day when I was an intern. I asked him if I had “vocal fry” [and] if he had any tips on how to fight it. He told me he didn’t think vocal fry was a thing and that I didn’t need to worry about it. He said it was just something made up to make women feel bad. I think my heart exploded.

White female reporter

I got some feedback from various people at my job and also from NPR broadcasters about finding my radio voice. They encouraged me to be myself and pretend I was talking to close friends.

Latina reporter/producer

The first editor who did a voice coaching session with me asked me what I wanted to sound like, which was a great experience. It allowed me to think about building my own sound, rather than fitting into a box.

White transgender/nonbinary reporter

My first editor was very influential in how I sound now. … He told me, “You never have to sound like the typical NPR hosts when you voice your script.” Their voices are often really soft and very formal. What he said really resonated with me.

Black female/nonbinary reporter/producer

What concerns have you had about your voice or delivery, and how have you addressed them?

Journalists mentioned getting more comfortable over time with ad-libbing, trying to bring extra energy to avoid sounding monotone, pretending to speak to one person to avoid sounding singsong-y, standing to avoid running out of breath and drinking water to avoid dry mouth. Several said that over time they learned to sound less uptight and more authentic.

I suppose I was concerned with sounding fake, unlike myself or like I was trying too hard. So, I would often listen to my coworkers and how they sounded on the air vs. how they sounded when I would talk to them in conversation. I realized I was overthinking it and that my coworkers mostly sounded like themselves on the air but with extra-clear enunciations and accessible-to-the-public diction.

Latina reporter/producer

For my first year, I tried to emulate our senior reporters, who are mostly older men and have a very professional way of delivering news (which works wonderfully for them —  they sound great). I worried that I didn’t sound professional enough and that my tone would be different from everyone else on the radio. Once I allowed more lightness and personality to come into my voice, I think I started sounding better and more like myself.

White transgender/nonbinary reporter

In many cases, journalists learned to move past perceived problems and embrace the unique aspects of their vocal delivery.

I still worry about being misunderstood or lisping. … These days, however, I don’t have the time to agonize over every syllable. I’m busy meeting with sources, developing pitches and having authority over my beat. That is what our listeners care about — whether we convey all of the most important information. That is my priority now, and if I sound feminine, young or stutter over one syllable while doing it, so be it.

White female reporter

I often worry that I sound too young. This comes out of a fear that I don’t quite belong in this space/deserve to be here yet. There really is no way to address this concern, other than to just keep working. … As older white hosts have been the standard that built the “NPR sound,” I’ve also worried in the past about my “Miami accent” and the ways that I may unintentionally mispronounce or overpronounce certain words, particularly those with “L” sounds. I think mine is quite light, but the worry stems from not wanting to be perceived as “unprofessional.” This was more a worry when I was still a student and I worked at a station where reporters were predominantly white. I’ve since grown to embrace that I sound like where I was born and raised.

Hispanic/White female reporter

I remember a colleague making a comment to me about my “vocal fry,” which irritated me. … It was something that took some time to get over, especially as I had a male colleague who came on shortly after I did, and he got on the radio faster because he had the “radio voice.” It makes me think a lot about how we perceive female voices and how discriminatory it often is. But then I look in my newsroom, which is comprised mainly of women, and know the future of radio really is female and incredibly more diverse.

White female journalist

Comments like these suggest that while concerns about self-presentation persist, young journalists are less likely than ever before to feel the need to “conform to a particular ‘white’ American way of speaking,” as one respondent put it. Journalists are observing more vocal diversity on air and being encouraged, in the words of another respondent, to “discover my own voice and how I want to sound.”

Elia Powers is the author of Performing the News: Identity, Authority, and the Myth of Neutrality (Rutgers University Press). He is an associate professor of journalism in the Department of Mass Communication at Towson University.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to Greta Johnsen as host/producer of the WBEZ podcast Nerdette. She is a former host/producer of the podcast.