The Host Whisperer

Radley Balko | April 23, 2008

This is funny:

You Washingtonians who get your morning news fix from National Public Radio may have noticed something over the years: All those NPR hosts, well, kinda sound the same. There’s a very distinct NPR voice: Quiet, calm and careful.

Well, it’s not an accident. Turns out NPR actually has someone on staff to help radio hosts perfect that soft and lulling voice: David Candow.

“Weekend Edition Saturday” host Scott Simon talked about Candow during a “Q&A Cafe” interview last week at Nathans restaurant.

“There is a man named David, who’s called ‘The Host Whisperer’ and he works with people on their delivery skills,” said Simon.