Sound bites

IMPORTANT:This page has used Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia in either a refactored, modified, abridged, expanded, built on or 'strait from' text content!

Not to be confused with: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundBite_Hearing_System.

Overview[]

A sound bite is a short clip of speech or music extracted from a longer piece of audio, often used to promote or exemplify the full length piece. In the context of journalism, a sound bite is characterized by a short phrase or sentence that captures the essence of what the speaker was trying to say, and is used to summarize information and entice the reader or viewer. The term was coined by the U.S. media in the 1970s. Since then, politicians have increasingly employed sound bites to summarize their positions.

Due to its brevity, the sound bite often overshadows the broader context in which it was spoken, and can be misleading or inaccurate. The insertion of sound bites into news broadcasts or documentaries is open to manipulation, leading to conflict over journalistic ethics.

It can also be a short, catchy statement resembling those quoted or replayed by reporters.

History[]

Pre-Clinton and Blair[]

In the 1960s and 1970s, pressure from advertisers on the American television industry to create entertaining news material made sound bites central to political coverage. Politicians began to use PR techniques to craft self-images and slogans that would resonate with the television-viewing audience and ensure their victory in campaigns. The term "sound bite" was coined in the late 1970s, several years before the presidency of Ronald Reagan, who was famous for short, memorable phrases like, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" in reference to the Berlin Wall.

During the 1988 United States presidential election, candidate Michael Dukakis highlighted the prominent role of sound bites and spin doctors in political campaigns by running a commercial that mocked contender George H.W. Bush's handlers' frustration over the gaffes of his vice presidential running-mate Dan Quayle.

The 1990's phenomena[]

Ronald Reagan and Michael Dukakis liked using them. Tony Blair and Bill Clinton used them all the time. Tony Blair was accused of being a Political parrot in late 2008. It was virtually extinct by the time of Brexit.

Post Clinton and Blair[]

Several major Brexit campaigners for gon spin and mostly unashamedly lied in the 2010s.

First Known Use of sound-bite[]

Adjective- 1986. Noun- 1972. Derisity term- 1997.

Also see[]

Machine-driven politics
Machine politics
Mechanical answers
Parrot answers
Answers by rote
Political dogma
Manifesto
Spin
Buzwords
Blairisum and Blairites
False news sites
EU
USSR
Spin doctor
Manifesto
Spin
Negative campaigning
Quote by rote