In the press.

Be it Lester Holt announcing the open, close, and breaks within NBC's Dateline, Jim Cutler being heard as the highly recognizable voice of the ESPN Network, Rachel McGrath identifying stations in multiple formats, or Steve Kamer — who is heard on everything from radio stations to television network game shows and interview programs, podcasts and streaming.

Steve Kamer, voice of Network TV, Television, and Radio, shared that his start was very much like those of us who started in radio in high school or college. Steve was a student at USC when he landed a job working weekends and overnights in Los Angeles at K-Hits 97. He credits his voice with getting the opportunity to perform on-air at such a young age — working alongside the legendary Charlie Tuna and Joe Cipriano.

Kamer became the voice of The Today Show for NBC in 1994, the job he credits with giving him the confidence to go into voiceover full-time. He became Deborah Norville's announcer in 1997 when Inside Edition hired him. Since going full-time he's been the voice of QVC, CBS This Morning, NBC Sports, the Olympics for 20+ years, The Steve Harvey Show, and continues as the voice of CBS Radio News, as well as radio & TV stations, syndication, and network programming.

On best practices, Kamer advises producers to be clear with their voiceover actor: "Share with them a lot about your radio station. It helps me do a better job for you if I know something about the station, your goals, what you like and dislike, and what your expectations are." He also credits staying relevant — and still working with a coach — as how a talent avoids becoming "a flash in the pan."

Excerpt from the Radio Ink column by Mike McVay. Continue to the full article below.

"The choice was not mine, but the decision was easy to make," Kamer told BNM. He was able to parlay 17 years as a "terrible jock" into reinventing himself on-air. By the time Kamer was transitioning away from being an air personality, he was already the announcer for NBC's Today show. Over the next three decades, he established himself as a leading sound for many media companies.

Familiar Voice

Despite decades of high-profile voice-over work, with an upbeat and energetic style, there is no resting on any laurels for Kamer, 58, who is still working with coaches to hone and refine his style. "It's how you stay at the top of your game and not become a flash in the pan," Kamer said. "Even though I'm working at what some would consider 'the peak,' there's the next peak."

He just concluded work for the Olympics on NBC — for two weeks you heard him primarily announcing sponsor billboards. His voice-over work in the sports division goes back to the early 1990s, though under new management his vocal responsibilities are now only needed every two years. Kamer is also the voice of CBS Radio's Top of the Hour network newscasts.

He is the local and network branding voice for Saga Communications' cluster of news/talk stations. "In their case, Scott Chase, who's the group PD, likes the idea of having the network voice doing the local promos," Kamer said.

Along with the news entities, Kamer found his voice in daytime talk shows. His promo list could be part of a Paley Center exhibit — he estimates being heard on 20 programs over the years: Montel Williams, Geraldo, Donahue, Sally Jessy Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ananda Lewis among them, and currently Tamron Hall. Others know him for joining the final season of Judge Judy after original announcer Jerry Bishop died.

Style aside, Kamer says he separates himself with customer service. "If somebody commits to you as their announcer, you're expected to be available when they need you," he said — which means that even on vacation, "I have a portable travel studio that I set up in the hotel room." Early on he built a home studio to be more accessible and avoid the commute. "The bad news is everybody who has a home studio can compete for the same work." His setup is simple — all Apple products, including a Mac mini, no separate booth. "The whole room is padded and the sound is great."

In 2018, Kamer left the studio to surprise Steve Harvey, who had never met his announcer, as Harvey was interviewed from the audience about being single and taking care of his 92-year-old mother.

Beginnings

For Kamer, who hails from South Jersey, it started in radio at just 14 years old. At an early age he would sample stations from New York City and Philadelphia during the day and other markets at night. "I always was intrigued by listening to voices on radio, and ultimately on television." The bug bit as his parents took him to game-show tapings in Manhattan, where he was mesmerized by the announcers — especially watching the legendary Don Pardo do the audience warm-up for the original Jeopardy! on NBC. "Even at a young age, I had a voice that stood out. It didn't have a New Jersey accent, which I think was probably a plus."

During the Olympics, Kamer blocked out time each morning to record the latest scripts for producers in Stamford, CT, with a two-day lead time from audio to air. "They want to call or page, and have you immediately drop what you're doing, get on the microphone and record. I always put my best voice forward." Breaking news could force him to re-record a new promo for shows like Tamron Hall just hours before airtime. Many weekdays he's in the booth from 8 a.m. until midnight.

To New York area sports fans, Kamer is the voice of the YES Network with his famous "Only on YES!" delivery — with the Yankees' broadcast home since its inception in 2002. "TV pays the bills, but radio is very exciting. It's immediate. I like to record something, hear it on the air and know that I'm a part of the overall station." He recently landed a three-year renewal as the voice of WGN Radio in Chicago. "People commit for long periods of time because they don't want you to go somewhere else in the market" — a stability rare in freelance work.

Even more than traditional broadcasting, voice-over is highly competitive. "There are a lot of great voice-over announcers, but there's one Steve Kamer," he said proudly. "That's the mantel I claim. I play in my own sandbox." To the next generation he says a good voice isn't enough: it can't be a hobby, and you need a coach and a demo that shows your strongest assets. "You can't come across as desperate." He tailors every read — "When I'm doing a radio station in Atlantic City, Des Moines, or Nashville, I put on a voice that's reflective of wearing a pair of jeans or khakis. When I'm doing the Olympics, I put on my tuxedo voice." He typically works without direction, which he finds more efficient, and insists on owning the copy by fact-checking pronunciations. CNN viewers likely heard him on promos leading up to the network's NYC Homecoming Concert on August 21.

Always Growing

His popularity hasn't translated into commercial work — "[They] have not been an area that I've had a lot of success in" — nor movie trailers and network prime-time promos. "That's a hard one. That really borders on being a good actor. Those movie trailers and network promos require all acting." Still, he stayed busy through the pandemic for radio and TV gigs, including Inside Edition, adapting his reads: "I couldn't be as hard hitting and abrasive. I had to pull it back and reflect what's going on in the world." You'll also find him narrating for the Smithsonian Channel, where "you really have to stay committed and interested in the subject matter."

Despite his many assignments, few outside the industry connect the dots. "My voice is a celebrity. I'm not. Only my voice is famous. It's exciting to be out and hear my voice somewhere. But I like the anonymity of being in a room and not being known as the announcer guy." He isn't worried about spreading his voice too thin: "If someone recognizes the voice, that's fine. But we want the voice to be in the background and the message in the foreground." Sometimes it literally is spread thin — a cold or laryngitis — but he's used the huskiness to his advantage: "I've booked the job and then I can't duplicate it when my voice gets better."

In Atlantic City you might hear him welcoming guests to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and — using his fondness for transportation and his Jersey roots — greeting PATH riders with the next-stop alert and the famous "please stand clear of the closing doors." He also enjoys being heard on New Jersey stations he grew up listening to. When picking projects he needs to feel passionate about the topic: "It's not driven by money." His rates depend on market size and copy volume — "A local radio station isn't going to pay the same as NBC Sports. That would be ridiculous." With a career that shows no sign of slowing, he occasionally wonders "what if": "Had radio continued to embrace me as a jock, I might still be doing it today."

Originally published by Barrett Sports Media · Jerry Barmash. Reprinted with permission.