I was just thinking the same thing..I think I sound JUST like the people on the national news but people that have heard my voice seem to be under the impression that I have an accent!!
Don't feel singled out Injest, when I travel I am IMMEDIATELY labelled as Tex! I realize that it is done in good humor, and my accent often makes me a lot of friends.
I really don't exaggerate my drawl, I simply have a Texas drawl that won't quit no matter how hard I try! And, there are phraseological constructions that label me as a Southerner who grew up in small town. A lot of brokies have noticed some of those same expressions in the movie Brokeback Mountain, and there is a thread I noticed dedicated to the noting speech patterns of the Brokeback boys. Truth is they could have talked to me on the phone for 30 minutes and probably heard a me use a lot of those expressions naturally.
Happy Trails!