[joe-frank-list] Joe on NPR

[Steve Bacher]

My introductory comment was by way of explanation of why I had the 
impression of the NPR anchor that I did, because if/when I was listening 
to NPR all along it wouldn't have hit me that way.  It wasn't meant as a 
commentary on whether I found NPR worth listening to or not.  My 
circumstances since retirement have changed so I'm not listening to NPR 
in the car while going to and from work anymore.

I wasn't referring to the "You have been listening to Joe Frank Work in 
Progress" messages, but the general ATC news anchor voice(s) (the ones 
parodied on the infamous SNL sketch with Alec Baldwin).

Of course I thoroughly appreciate getting to listen to Joe's NPR voice 
work, and I found it fascinating to listen to (he wasn't using the 
effects that made his radio programs so haunting, of course).  But in 
the course of listening to the segments it brought up thoughts about the 
NPR programming in general and how it struck me nowadays.

  - seb

On 10/10/2026 8:54 AM, rbell at alumni.caltech.edu wrote:
> 	Quoth Mr Steve Bacher:  'I haven't listened to NPR in many
> years.'
> 	I wasn't recommending NPR.
>
> 	'The (non-Joe Frank) news anchor sounds to me now just like an
> AI-generated voice-over.'
> 	KYBU airs Joe.  The announcement of what was just aired
> afterwards is clearly synthetic.
>
> 	'The hotel story itself is just as dull as the kinds of
> discussions Joe used to parody on his own shows.'
> 	I recommended the segment because one can hear Joe's voice,
> not for the content of the story.  As an erstwhile Washingtonian it
> meant something to me.  Seeing as how Joe hosted ATC for at least 20
> episodes it's curious only this has been published, and in 2019.  I
> searched earlier this year, didn't find this episode.  I wonder if
> it's specific to me?
>
> 	'The "Ode to War" is classic JF.  I have a feeling Pete
> Hegseth would approve the message.'
> 	And miss the irony, he obviously suffering from an
> irony-deficient diet.
>
> russell bell
> _______________________________________________
> Joe Frank Mailing List
> joe-frank-list at armory.com
> http://www.armory.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/joe-frank-list