The secret of good radio revealed

New research reveals that greater control of vocal chords is behind the best voices, but are such skills innate or learned?

6 Aug 2014

Richard Watts

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Performing Arts

Patricia Hughes (1923 – 2013), seen here in 1946, was the first woman to read the news on BBC radio.

Warm, rich, conversational voices full of quirk and character: we may not always be able to define what makes a great radio voice, but invariably we know such a voice when we hear it.

Adrian Basso, General Manager at Melbourne’s PBS 106.7 FM, said a good radio voice comes down to one word: ‘Personality’.

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Richard Watts is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM, and serves as the Chair of La Mama Theatre's volunteer Committee of Management. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and was awarded the status of Melbourne Fringe Living Legend in 2017. In 2020 he was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. Most recently, Richard was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Green Room Awards Association in June 2021. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts