I’ve noticed it for a while now, mostly through the presidential campaigns. The moderators sound fine, in the news room, anchors sound great.

I follow politics; very much enjoy the strategy of each side dancing around each other. Indeed, my favorite show of all time is The West Wing. I keep track of the issues, campaign moves and I’m subscribed to each candidates mailing list (well, those 3 that are left).

So it’s unsurprising that I’d watch the debates.

Without commenting on my political leanings (can’t alienate any listeners who might disagree), I was watching Barrack Obama’s most recent speech on YouTube and groaning the whole time. Again, leaving aside the content, the audio was terrible. Just like the debates.

Listening to the candidates during both the Republican and Democratic debates was like listening to a junior high put on their first microphone enhanced speech. Bursts of air when saying a P sound (called popping), fuzz, air conditioning. A cell phone ringing. . .

Even the microphones cut out mid speech. How hard is it to run a volume slider? Sure, I’ve made live mistakes before. We all have. But I expect CNN to hire better people than I. Maybe someone who pays attention to “Govener _____, how do you feel about ________” and, say, turn his mic on. That’s plenty of warning.

These are easy to fix. Use a microphone covers to reduce popping. Run a quick sweep and find the fuzz and take it out. Noise reduction for the air conditioning. Maybe an engineer who’s paying attention.

Audio should be good. Tell a story. Amazing. But it’s not. It’s becoming common and experts are fighting back.

I talked to a professor last night who’s designing a series on podcasting, with offshoots for studio design, digital photography and more. He’s tired of it too. “CNN sucks”. He’s right.

We should be experts. We’re not. Time to do better.