Seems to me that in the US, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Italy, or anywhere in southern Europe, really, all you have to do is swing a mic around and you’ll hit someone who sounds great on the air. Back in England, we burden ourselves, with honourable exceptions, with ridiculous contrived styles. I’d love to hear a contemporary Brit Broadcaster who could deliver the mix of informality, rhythm, poise and gravitas of an Alastair Cooke or a Garrison Keillor. I’d love to see if that classic French affable wordy formal/informal radio style could translate to English. I have my doubts…

A while back, I mused about what we mean by radio, which sort of centered on communication between broadcaster and audience. And on that tip, I don’t feel I am being communicated with when I hear a hideously exaggerated local accent from someone who really doesn’t talk like that in real life. And I don’t feel I am being communicated with when I hear the same generic voice (butch, male, faintly pompous and shouty) doing the idents on a dozen automated digital stations.

That’s why I liked what I heard on Radio Campus 93.3. That gallic style – rich and relaxed – hasn’t changed in decades, and it fits well. Simple, inviting, unapologetic and direct does it for me. But, as with the last interesting new station I’ve come across (vocalo, out of Chicago), content is king and the style of the station flows from there.