April 20, 2010
By Valerie Smaldone
Not everyone belongs on the radio. There, I've said it. It's a statement that's been rumbling around in my head for a number of years now.
As a talent coach and adjunct instructor at a prestigious arts college (School of Visual Arts), I work with a lot of people who want to pursue the path of voice-over artist and media celebrity. I will never say that an individual should not pursue a passion. What I will say, however, is if someone has a speech issue, a strong accent, or difficulty with expression that they need to work on, that?s a bona fide stumbling block.
But what I'm hearing on the air in the top market in the country is puzzling. Following on the heels of a recent commentary by CBS honcho Dan Mason in Radio Ink (that air personalities have been diluted), I will go one better. A number of broadcasters who are currently working need serious coaching. Program directors and general managers, I appeal to you. Take the time to listen to your talent as if you were a consumer, not
a manager worrying about sales or budgets. Dial back to when you were enthralled with radio and glued to your transistor. Do your personalities engage you? Do they sound pleasant? Is there a regional accent that doesn't make sense for your market? More and more, I am jangled by whiny, high-pitched voices, bored-sounding personalities, and even pronounced regional accents that are misplaced and jarring.
And with the increasing frequency of experts who are being utilized on the air as contributors, or, more likely, are radio station clients paying to be on the radio, there is a new breed of media personality. Here is where it pays to bring in coaches to help the novice execute their mission: a sales pitch, or an expert opinion.
This is an audio medium. There has to be some quality in the voice that draws the listener in. A great storyteller. A soothing and beautiful sound. If you are hiring people just to fill a slot, or allowing your clients to go on the air uncoached, well then, yes, we have diluted our air product.
I may be extremely unpopular for saying this, but not everyone is suited for every field. A slightly built man is not going to go out for a defense position in the NFL. A person who sings off key in the shower is not going to make it to the Metropolitan Opera.
So, decision makers, let's bring our standards up a bit higher. Next time you think about hiring a talent with a voice that needs work, or have the idea to bring on a contributor who is not adept at communication, take two aspirins, and call me in the morning.
Five-time Billboard Magazine Award winner Valerie Smaldone hosts the talk show Valerie's New York, the first originally produced Internet radio show, for WOR's Internet station www.wor710.com.
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