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 12:00

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 OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in early 2020. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association in 2021, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Photo: Fiona Hamilton. Follow Richard on Bluesky @richardthewatts.bsky.social and Instagram @richard.l.watts