Former announcer calls radio her happiest decade

Former Estonian Radio announcer Anne Eenpalu said her 10 years at the broadcaster were the happiest period of her life, ERR reported through the Klassikaraadio programme Delta.

Eenpalu worked as an announcer at Estonian Radio from 1984 to 1994. She said radio was her first passion.

“I really liked the silence, the passing of the seconds, opening the microphone and speaking,” Eenpalu said.

She recalled that an announcer’s work involved more than reading prepared texts. Every foreign name and difficult word was checked before going on air, including the pronunciation of composers’ names when their nationalities were unclear.

The texts read by announcers ranged from light and entertaining material, such as advice on choosing a pillow for sleeping, to propaganda. Eenpalu recalled one story claiming that airships flying over Siberia discovered mineral resources and that mining began as soon as a signal was received.

“I read it, switched off the microphone and walked from the Vikerraadio studio to the break room. I sat there thinking that this was impossible,” she said.

According to Eenpalu, colleague Heino Kõrgard then came to get her, saying that the text was propaganda and that the programme still had to be read. She returned to the studio, but said the incident was her first shock over the material announcers were expected to deliver.

She described learning that she had to leave the radio station as her most painful experience. In the middle of a workday, announcer Sirje Eesmaa brought her an envelope. The letter said that her contract would end on Friday.

“It was such humiliation and such a difficult experience for me, to realise that nobody cared about you at all. Just like that, you no longer exist,” Eenpalu said.

On her final day, she cleared out her locker in the break room and left colleagues a note saying that, if fate wished it, they would meet again. She said she still dreams about her former workplace.

In the dreams, she rides a slightly shaky lift to the fourth floor, walks along the corridor and finds that everything in the break room has changed. She then goes to the first studio and tries to open the microphone, but it will not turn on.

Kopli radio station began operating on December 18, 1926, an event considered the beginning of regular broadcasting in Estonia. Over the following century, thousands of people worked for Estonian Radio.

Eenpalu said she wished the broadcaster a strong programme focused on substance and continued care for the Estonian language. She also said radio should announce the time more often, as many people, including young families, need to organise busy days precisely.