Broadcasters may sound alike in large part because they all enunciate and attempt to achieve articulatory precision. Few anchors will say “dubya.” They will say “double-you.” But that occasional “dubya” is what makes speech patterns sound different. And that's all the news we have today.

Why do reporters talk that way?

Another reason why news anchors share speech patterns is that they are all taught to use standard broadcasting English, a form of pronunciation in which no letters are dropped. ... There's the added fact that most broadcasters are emulating the voices of their role models, and so speech patterns get passed down.

What accent do broadcasters have?

Today, news-speak corresponds to the accent called General American, and reflects the way many people around the country actually talk.