|
Why
do I say my name in such a ridiculous manner
when I end my daily reports? A question not
often asked, except by the confident few who
want to bust my chops, but certainly a point
of interest.
First and foremost, don’t think for a second
that I don’t know how absurd it sounds. But
the truth is I didn’t realize I was doing it
for the first few months I spent covering
the team.
Anyone who has a background in broadcasting
will understand how this began and why I’m
now stuck with it. When I first started
covering the team, my producer asked for
25-40 second wraps (basically a story
containing a player/coach sound byte) to be
aired every hour to promote our Redskins
coverage. Let’s assume the sound byte is 15
seconds long. As an assignment for those of
you who fancy themselves a broadcaster, try
to write lines of copy that complete the
story you are trying to tell in 25 seconds
or less.
Well, when I first started doing these
updates, I was too verbose. Often times my
reports when edited would be upwards of a
minute. The entire update segment was one
minute and 30 seconds. The report
essentially would take up the entire
allotted time for the anchor after he read
an opening, a closing and a sponsor. I found
myself reading the copy faster to get in
everything I wanted to say. Without
realizing it, I was saying my name at a
torrid pace.
As time went by, I started to craft my
writing much better and found I could say
what I needed to with fewer words, and I
even started slowing down when reading the
copy. But one thing never stopped. Because I
had started reading my name so quickly at
the end of the piece due to being pressed
for time, it became like a tick. I’m not
sure I could do a report without saying my
name this way now. It’s as if I have a rare
form of sports radio Tourette ’s syndrome.
Like I said, I never really realized how
ridiculous it sounded initially. But it
caught on. Suddenly Redskins fans knew my
name because of the tag line. It wasn’t
purposeful. Accidentally I had formed a
signature to my work. How stupid would it
sound now if I started ending my daily
reports with my name stated at a normal
pace? Or how about if I said my name with a
British accent?
So, I’m stuck with it. I guess there could
be a lot worse things to be known for. And
besides, my name is Bram Weinstein; there
really isn’t any way to make that sound
cool!!
I'm Bram Weinstein -
MP3
Bram
Weinstein |
