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Interview: The Outgoing 'Voice of NPR' on His Austin Ties

Richard Glinka
Frank Tavares won't be idle when his work as the "voice of NPR" is done. He is a professor of communication at Southern Connecticut State University and an author.

You know Frank Tavares. You just don't know that you know Frank Tavares.

For over 30 years, Tavares has been the authoritative but friendly voice of those NPR underwriting announcements. You know, the ones that say "Support for NPR comes from …"

Starting this month, Tavares will be stepping away from those duties to make way for a new voice. Sabrina Farhi, the new voice of NPR underwriting, will be based at the group's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Tavares lives and teaches in Connecticut, and records the announcements remotely.

Long before his voice was heard nationwide over NPR, he was heard locally in Austin. While Tavares was a student at the University of Texas at Austin, he also worked here atKUT 90.5 FM.

In this interview he discusses his start in radio, his time in Austin, and regional accents with KUT's Jennifer Stayton.

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Jennifer Stayton is the local host for NPR's "Morning Edition" on KUT. Got a tip? Email her at jstayton@kut.org. Follow her on X @jenstayton.
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