A TV reporter who sounds like Fran Drescher underwent surgery to save his career
A California television reporter said she was strongly encouraged to change her voice to further her broadcasting career — now she’s using her voice to report on her voice surgery journey.
“I hope my experience can help others who face similar judgment and shame to understand that they shouldn’t give up on themselves and their dreams,” Emma Goss, 30, told The Post on Tuesday. “The surgery was the path I chose for myself. But that does not mean that it is also the right way for others.”
Goss — a freelance reporter in the San Francisco Bay Area and contributor to J. The Jewish News of Northern California — wrote about her life-changing decision in an essay for TODAY.comand claimed people had long mocked her “shockingly nasal” voice, which she was compared to Fran Drescher to “The Nanny”.
“I call my signature sound my ‘cilantro voice,’ because it seems to evoke strong, divisive responses in some people—much like the taste of cilantro,” Goss wrote.
“When I open my mouth to speak, I never know if the person I’m speaking to is one of those people who want to spit it out right away or if they don’t dislike it.”
The young professional described a time in her career when she filled a vacancy for several months and awaited management’s decision on whether to hire her to fill the position permanently.
“But when the day came, senior management told me that despite my excellent reporting and unique investigative skills, my voice was a problem and said matter-of-factly that it was just too nasal for ‘that size market,’ and seemed to imply that I was.” overwhelmed if I thought I could get a full-time job in a top 10 market with a coriander voice,” she wrote.
“They added that the network hoped I would continue as a freelancer and offered to pay a voice coach to work with me.”
She recalled, “The rejection pained me, and the offer to pay a coach didn’t feel like support, but more like an ultimatum: change your voice or get out.”
Goss said she signed up for online vocal training classes and “did the exercises until I was out of breath and my tongue was sore.”
Not wanting to give up television reporting, Goss said she knew she would have to quit her freelance job at the unknown news network — and think about changing her voice permanently.
In November, a laryngologist diagnosed Goss with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI). the Cleveland Clinic This occurs when the seal between the mouth and nasal cavities does not close completely, leading to nasal noise and other speech problems.
Her doctor recommended “injecting a lot of filling material into the wall of my larynx so that part of it balloons and it closes completely” before discussing surgical options.
Goss admitted she was afraid it might mean “sacrificing part of my identity,” but she also wanted to advance her career, so she decided to get the shot.
She said she underwent the procedure in January at her own expense.
“The outcome of the surgery was subtle, but to me it sounded like I’d finally gotten over a 30-year cold. The change was almost imperceptible to the people who cared about me, who didn’t think my voice needed changing at all,” Goss wrote.
“I underwent a second operation in May, where I sewed a synthetic ‘flap’ onto my larynx to permanently close the air gap. This time the recovery will take several months and during that time my voice sounds more nasal than ever – the complete opposite of what I was trying to achieve.”
Goss declined to comment when asked by The Post if she had heard from her previous employer since receiving the procedures or after publishing her essay on Tuesday.
She said she enjoys working at another news station in the Bay Area and her voice “was never a topic of discussion between my co-workers and I.”
She added, “It’s meaningful to read the messages of encouragement and compassion that people have shared with me and to know that my story resonates with so many people.”
