In The News & on TV

I wanted to label this as a bit of a rant but I am not angry just curious.

I see more and more news and weather reports that speak with a British accent.

I understand CNN and FOX news have on the scene reports from the country they are reporting from but I wonder. I was just watching a dude standing in the path of hurricane Sally speaking (yelling) with a British accent. Did he come all the way from the UK to report on storms?

Those PF members from the UK I would like to know how many news reporters in the UK speak with a US accent? ?

And Canada.

What's with all these home improvement shows that all are done by Canadian actors(?). A Canadian accent is as distinctive as a British one when you know what to listen for. I don't make a habit of watching those shows but whenever I see one I am hearing OAT instead of OUT.
Again I got nothing against Canadians but cant we renovate houses in the US.

I know this sounds like I am anti-everybody but I am not. It just doesn't make sense. I live about 1 hour away from Hollywood. Are they having that much trouble finding US citizens for the job.

YES YES YES just because you have an accent doesn't mean your not a citizen.

Are you sure they're actually British, and not just Americans who want to sound a bit more posh? Back in the early years of television in Australia virtually all the TV presenters spoke with a very plummy British accent while on the air, and reverted to dinky-di Aussie the moment the cameras were turned off. And just about all the radio announcers would speak with an American accent. They thought it lent the broadcast and the announcer a bit more "gravitas"!

That's a good point.
It could be faked but I would think it would be a difficult pretense to maintain.

There are a lot of movies that did a bad job of matching accents with the character that was being portrait.

The Hunt for the Red October. A Russian sub commander with a Brit accent.
The Boy In the Striped Pajamas. German prison commander with a Brit accent.

I am sure there are a lot more, those are the ones that I remember the most.

Jeee Wes, don't hold back now -- say what you're feeling! Like an Amazon...

The DYI programs and a bunch of Automobile programs are Canadian (Ontario) based -- its a cost driven thing with Hollywood being so very expensive these days.

North America has long ago been the gathering point of a vast number of emigrates from around the World. It is not unusual for second and third generations to have the family accent. Also, it is kind of like California searching for staff in the mid-west because they can attract people who are unaware of the cost of living in California compared to the mid-West. The same is true for News Media looking for reported 'off-shore.'

However !!! Use google.com on movies and characters; actually take a look for yourself. I guarantee you will be surprised. I used to drive a truck cross country and my wife rode wife me. To keep her occupied, I had her search out actual owners of our American oil/gas stations (Exxon, Mobil, Shell,etc ...), turnpikes (PA, NY, ETC ...) Spread it around and you will be astounded !!! I know I am and I"m not even a peccimist. jh
PS: Go look for awhile each night for a week. jh

It’s called ‘One World Order’!
Kidding!
Funny about your annoyance with misplaced accents in movies! I find the faked, politically correct accents annoying!
FYI, if you ever meet Sean Connery in person, I would advise against asking him about his British accent!

Flboy said:

It’s called ‘One World Order’!
Kidding!
Funny about your annoyance with misplaced accents in movies! I find the faked, politically correct accents annoying!
FYI, if you ever meet Sean Connery in person, I would advise against asking him about his British accent!

Click to expand...

I totally respect Sean Connery, I just think he was wrong for that part.
At best you could speculate that Sean Connery's character learned to speak English from an ex pat. of the UK.

But you can carry realism to far. It gets to be a drag when you have to read subtitles through half of the movie.

In a house with 3 amazon's subtitles are a must or you better learn to lip read