I was watching the local news tonight, and I heard a new voice from one of the reporter. This was different, because usually news people have the same ol' sounding voice. Like they learned this in their Master's Television Communication Diction Course 401. Basically, many of them I think sound "white," which is a whole 'nother blog entry. Anyway...
This guy was definitely not white and yes, he turns out to be of Hispanic descent. His last name is Romo. I wondered what other people watching and hearing him for the first time thought. To me, he was refreshing. He reminded me of the diversity I love in Chicago. He reminded me that no, we all don't sound the same.
Then, I wondered if someone of Asian descent would have the same luxury of sounding a little bit "Asian" on the air. I could hear the producers now... okay, you can sound a little Asian, but you have to be able to say your "l's."
What does it mean to not sound "white" in this world? How we sound is part of our identity. It goes hand in hand with the language we choose to verbally say. I thought about trying a test where I would go and visit another major, diverse metropolitan city and tune into the local news, but with a blindfold on. I would then try and guess the person's gender, race, and ethnicity.
Sure, as long as I get "the news" (and I use that term loosely), I am satisfied. But we all know that it makes a difference who is writing the story or reporting it. Our background, culture, knowledge, and experience affects everything.
I hope Mr. Romo gets to continue. I hope he develops as a top notch reporter no matter how he sounds.
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