# Melissa Block NPR
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [June 27, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819 "2014-06-27T21:47:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/21 "2014-06-28T14:45:50Z")
> [@Kolga](#):
>
> Personally, I think Eleanor Beardsley’s vocal fry is the most over-the-top and annoying. I have a very hard time listening to her reports.
She does the BBC drop at the end of every sentence. I agree, annoying, but I’m not sure that’s really vocal fry.
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### Author:  [@morganiste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/morganiste)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/22 "2014-06-28T15:05:20Z")
Why is vocal fry so apparent especially among youngish women ? What do you think it is used for ? I think it is a form of seduction, not necessarily sexual in nature.
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### Author:  [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/23 "2014-06-28T15:08:03Z")
I only hear a subtle vocal fry on Block’s voice, probably because she has a fairly raspy voice. Worse for me is that she often sounds like she’s reporting completely submerged in a vat of treacle.
As for the Queen of Nasality, Eleanor Beardsley, _she_ should be shot by cannon directly into the sun. How’s your plum Paris assignment, now, Eleanor?
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### Author:  [@morganiste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/morganiste)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/24 "2014-06-28T15:12:24Z")
Who is Eleanor Bearsdley ?
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### Author:  [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/25 "2014-06-28T15:15:21Z")
> [@Kolga](#):
>
> Personally, I think Eleanor Beardsley’s vocal fry is the most over-the-top and annoying. I have a very hard time listening to her reports.
I haven’t noticed her vocal fry but she has a very odd accent that I just can’t put a finger on. Kind of southern-ish sounding, but very nasal. And it sounds even worse when she says things in French. The weirdest thing is that it comes and goes - some days it’s barely noticeable and other times it’s so over-the-top that I wonder if she’s doing it on purpose
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### Author:  [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/26 "2014-06-28T15:25:24Z")
> [@morganiste](#):
>
> Who is Eleanor Bearsdley ?
The Devil.
But seriously I tried to find a clip, but in the one I found she sounded almost normal. Probably because it was a casual back and forth with the anchor. The nasality and Midwestern accent become much more pronounced when she’s reading a prepared report, especially if it has some French words in it (exactly like **Shoeless** said). Then it goes to 11.
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### Author:  [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/27 "2014-06-28T15:47:13Z")
Here’s a [clip for Eleanor Beardsley](http://www.dw.de/ie-ny-rungis-market-mp3-mono/av-15635324).
ETA: she is very fry-ie in this.
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### Author:  [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/28 "2014-06-28T15:57:01Z")
> [@scabpicker](#):
>
> Wow, it doesn’t bother me at all. You folks may need actual problems in your lives.
Without ever having given much conscious thought to it until now, I’ve always mildly \*liked \*it in women. (\*ILFs) 😉 It’s like “bedroom voice” to me, so it’s all my fault, I guess. :o
::donning nomex suit:: 😛
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/29 "2014-06-28T16:26:55Z")
> [@Shoeless](#):
>
> I haven’t noticed her vocal fry but she has a very odd accent that I just can’t put a finger on. Kind of southern-ish sounding, but very nasal. And it sounds even worse when she says things in French. The weirdest thing is that it comes and goes - some days it’s barely noticeable and other times it’s so over-the-top that I wonder if she’s doing it on purpose
Around here (and possibly elsewhere), women adopt an odd-sounding faux accent, sort of like the Valley Girl accent of years ago. It’s hard to describe, other than it sounds like they just let the jaw muscles go slack or have a mouthful of marbles. Words like “that” become “thaht”, which is not pronounced that way in any part of the English-speaking world I’ve visited. It seems like an attempt to sound sophisticated. To me, it makes them sound like morons. Combine that with the question mark at the end of every statement that isn’t infected with vocal fry and you get a real jaw-clenching experience. All I can think about is the relief I’ll feel when they shut the fuck up.
It’s not a problem, but an annoyance. Apparently **scabpicker** has none of those in his/her life, which means sainthood is not far behind.
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### Author:  [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/30 "2014-06-28T17:12:45Z")
You know what happens when a young American woman joins the military?
The gratuitous inclusion of “fuckin’” gradually exceeds that of “like.”
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### Author:  [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/31 "2014-06-28T17:31:47Z")
Okay, I listened to ol’ Eleanor. I would describe her voice as “grating,” but tolerable.
I don’t think many of you have heard Zoe Chace. When I first heard her on the radio, I actually pulled over and Googled her - I was like, “Is she performing? Like Fran Drescher on ‘The Nanny?’” But that’s her actual radio voice. Here’s an example: [Zoe Chace - Talking About Anything - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZu6vgGb0Ek)
The poster gives her the appellation “best voice ever,” which suggests it was posted by her mother.
It is described as derived from “a New England family, a Manhattan childhood, college at Oberlin in Ohio, and a first job as a teacher in a Philadelphia high school.” (How does college and teaching change your accent?) I suggest that we dispatch Zoe as a weapon to irritate the shit out of American foes abroad.
Believe it or not her voice is fairly “restrained” here. I’ve heard it much more nasally and “spat out” before.
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/32 "2014-06-28T17:35:06Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#):
>
> It is described as derived from “a New England family, a Manhattan childhood, college at Oberlin in Ohio, and a first job as a teacher in a Philadelphia high school.” (How does college and teaching change your accent?) I suggest that we dispatch Zoe as a weapon to irritate the shit out of American foes abroad.
It sounds like a fairly typical Great Lakes (Cleveland-Chicago) accent to me. I am very surprised to hear it from someone who grew up in Manhattan.
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### Author:  [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/33 "2014-06-28T17:52:30Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> It sounds like a fairly typical Great Lakes (Cleveland-Chicago) accent to me. I am very surprised to hear it from someone who grew up in Manhattan.
Good Lord. If that’s typical, Cleveland-Chicago has just displaced Long Island as my least favorite regional accent. Thing is, I’ve traveled extensively to Chicago and I have never heard Zoe Chace-like voices there before.
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/34 "2014-06-28T17:57:56Z")
Happy to hear the displeasure with Eleanor Beardsley.
I’m 95% sure she’s the mother of a guy I went to school with, and if that’s the case, she’s the moron who had the following exchange with my mother during my senior class’s awards banquet:
\< **Knead** called up for 5th or 6th award, possibly his National Merit Scholarship\>
**Person I’m pretty sure is Eleanor Beardsley, to my mom:** My goodness, you must be so proud!
**My mom:** Yes, we are.
**PIpsiEB:** What do you do for a living?
**Mm:** I’m a secretary.
**PIpsiEB:** Oh. What does his father do?
**Mm:** He drives a delivery truck.
**PIpsiEB:** Goodness. Where do you think he gets it from, then?
Moron.
ETA: Ugh, crap. I just learned that she and I share an _alma mater_.
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### Author:  [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/35 "2014-06-28T18:11:54Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#):
>
> Happy to hear the displeasure with Eleanor Beardsley.
>
> I’m 95% sure she’s the mother of a guy I went to school with, and if that’s the case, she’s the moron who had the following exchange with my mother during my senior class’s awards banquet:
>
> \< **Knead** called up for 5th or 6th award, possibly his National Merit Scholarship\>
> **Person I’m pretty sure is Eleanor Beardsley, to my mom:** My goodness, you must be so proud!
> **My mom:** Yes, we are.
> **PIpsiEB:** What do you do for a living?
> **Mm:** I’m a secretary.
> **PIpsiEB:** Oh. What does his father do?
> **Mm:** He drives a delivery truck.
> **PIpsiEB:** Goodness. Where do you think he gets it from, then?
>
> Moron.
>
> ETA: Ugh, crap. I just learned that she and I share an _alma mater_.
I just found a 2009 article about her that said she had a 3 year old and two stepsons, 16 & 14. Does that fit?
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/36 "2014-06-28T18:16:32Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#):
>
> Happy to hear the displeasure with Eleanor Beardsley.
>
> I’m 95% sure she’s the mother of a guy I went to school with, and if that’s the case, she’s the moron who had the following exchange with my mother during my senior class’s awards banquet:
>
> \< **Knead** called up for 5th or 6th award, possibly his National Merit Scholarship\>
> **Person I’m pretty sure is Eleanor Beardsley, to my mom:** My goodness, you must be so proud!
> **My mom:** Yes, we are.
> **PIpsiEB:** What do you do for a living?
> **Mm:** I’m a secretary.
> **PIpsiEB:** Oh. What does his father do?
> **Mm:** He drives a delivery truck.
> **PIpsiEB:** Goodness. Where do you think he gets it from, then?
>
> Moron.
Holy shit; that’s got to be the most patronizing thing I’ve ever heard. It’s along the lines of the retired AF colonel who worked for me (I was a company Chief Operating Officer at the time), who, upon learning that I was a retired Navy E-7, said in a voice approaching dumbstruck disbelief: “Wow, you’ve done very well for yourself.” Fuck you.
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### Author:  [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/37 "2014-06-28T18:22:28Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#):
>
> Can’t we just make that an overall NPR imperative?
Please! They have some godawful woman on our local weekday daytime programming who manages to do vocal fry and upspeak, and we need to do something about this. She sounds like a goddamn 17 year old, and is 100% of the reason I don’t even listen during the day anymore. I might tune in to Fresh Air if I remember.
> [@VinylTurnip](#):
>
> If NPR banned vocal fry, we’d get nothing but pledge drives and dead air.
That’s fine. I’d prefer that to vocal fry. No, I’m just kidding. Pledge drives are the worst thing there is. Rage every time I have to hear even a second of it. Once I heard someone say the drives are less annoying when you’re a donor. No, they aren’t! They’re even more annoying! They go from a nuisance to outright infuriating.
Sorry, sorry, I just got through a three hour long shitaton with my location station that alleges to have a “pledge-free stream” for its members that I was for some reason barred access to, so I’m a little wound up. On top of this, while holding, you have to listen to the drive. Absolutely sadistic.
Back to vocal fry. It’s awful. Knock it off, NPR.
Edit: **Knead** , that lady, Eleanor or not, is a cunt.
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/38 "2014-06-28T18:23:24Z")
> [@C3](#):
>
> I just found a 2009 article about her that said she had a 3 year old and two stepsons, 16 & 14. Does that fit?
The guy I went to school with is (duh) my age, so he’d have been 41 or so in 2009. So maybe it’s not her, or maybe she started having kids again late in life…
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> Holy shit; that’s got to be the most patronizing thing I’ve ever heard.
Precisely how I feel about it, yes. My mom told me about it as the three of us drove home afterward, and I wanted to punch her. Not my mom, the other her.
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### Author:  [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/39 "2014-06-28T18:23:41Z")
I also wondered what that was called. Bill Burr does a good example of that when he mimics a bubble-headed young girl.
Unfortunately, I can’t find any examples.
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melissa-block-npr/691819/40 "2014-06-28T18:26:26Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#):
>
> Edit: **Knead** , that lady, Eleanor or not, is a cunt.
Concur with bells on. 🙂
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