A Great Voice Isn't Everything

Radio's Diane Rehm to speak at SEMO April 16

I cut my teeth in the radio business. As a young man, I worked as a radio news broadcaster in three states. Having a pleasant voice, a voice people find easy on the ear, was considered quite important. Well, since 1998, Diane Rehm has had quite a difficult voice for a listener to enjoy - yet an estimated 2.4 million people listen to her everyday on NPR. When I first heard her on the air, not knowing that she has suffered for the last 16 years with a speech disorder known as spasmodic dysphonia, I thought, "How does this person have a radio show? This is the worst on-air voice I've ever heard!" Well, Ms. Rehm, an Arab-American, was quite good before she developed the disorder and is quite good now - the only difference is that her voice is very different. And with dulcet, easy-on-the-ear voices flooding the radio airwaves, Rehm's voice makes her stand out. Good for her. I hope to be in the audience when she speaks at River Campus on April 16th. Triumphing over adversity is a story always worth hearing.