Nebraskans/Standard English

[Beverly Flanigan]

I don't think anyone tries to emulate Peter Jennings, who is distinctly
eastern Canadian.  In fact, I think the idea that newscasters try to
emulate any of these bigwigs is a myth put forward by the schools of
journalism and broadcasting.

At 02:45 PM 1/18/02 -0500, you wrote:
>As far as "best" speech relates to
>news-anchors:
>
>Walter Cronkite's from Leavenworth, Kansas
>(and we Kansans always thought the "purity"
>of Kansas speech had something to do with
>his success.  LOL...or maybe Kansas is simply
>too close to Nebraska....?)
>
>Or....what regional variety did Dan Rather learn
>when he jettisoned his "Texas" accent ?  Maybe
>that points to what journalists themselves con-
>sider "best" ?
>
>Did Peter Jennings make any adjustments of his
>speech when he came from the CBC ?  If not, is
>a "Canadian" accent the best "American" accent ?
>
>
>                                                              Steve Hicks


_____________________________________________
Beverly Olson Flanigan         Department of Linguistics
Ohio University                     Athens, OH  45701
Ph.: (740) 593-4568              Fax: (740) 593-2967
http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/linguistics/dept/flanigan.htm