Asound bite orsoundbite[1][2] 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 ofjournalism, 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 theU.S. media in the 1970s. Since then, variouspoliticians have increasingly employed sound bites to summarize their positions.
Due to its brevity, the sound bite often overshadows the broadercontext in which it was spoken, and can be misleading or inaccurate. The insertion of sound bites into news broadcasts or documentaries is open tomanipulation, leading to conflict overjournalistic ethics.
In the 1960s and 1970s, pressure fromadvertisers on theAmerican television industry to create entertaining news material made sound bites central to political coverage. Politicians began to usePR techniques to craft self-images and slogans that would resonate with the television-viewing audience and ensure their victory in campaigns.[3] The term "sound bite" was coined in the late 1970s, several years before the presidency ofRonald Reagan, who was famous for short, memorable phrases like, "Mr. Gorbachev,tear down this wall!" in reference to theBerlin Wall.[4]
During the1988 United States presidential election, candidateMichael Dukakis highlighted the prominent role of sound bites andspin doctors in political campaigns by running a commercial that mocked contenderGeorge H. W. Bush's handlers' frustration over thegaffes of his vice presidential running-mateDan Quayle.[5]
In journalism, sound bites are used to summarize the position of the speaker, as well as to increase the interest of the reader or viewer in the piece. In bothprint andbroadcast journalism, sound bites are conventionally juxtaposed and interspersed with commentary from the journalist to create anews story. A balanced news report is expected to contain sound bites representing both sides of the debate.[6] This technique, however, can lead tobiased reporting when a sound bite is selected forsensationalism, or is used to promote the point of view of one individual or group over another.[7]
In his bookThe Sound Bite Society, Jeffrey Scheuer argues that the sound bite was the product oftelevision's increased power over all forms of communication, and that the resulting trend toward short, catchy snippets of information had a significant negative impact on American political discourse.[8] In contrast,Peggy Noonan feels that sound bites have acquired a negative connotation but are not inherently negative, and that what we now think of as great historical sound bites—such as "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself", the most famous phrase inFranklin D. Roosevelt's firstInaugural Address—were examples of eloquent speakers unselfconsciously and "simply trying in words to capture the essence of the thought they wished to communicate."[9]
The increased use of sound bites in news media has been criticized, and has led to discussions onjournalistic andmedia ethics.[10] According to theCode of Ethics of theSociety of Professional Journalists, journalists should "make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context."[11]
Despite this criticism, sound bites are widely employed by businesses, trade groups, labor unions and politicians. SenatorJim DeMint readily admitted this when he said, "There’s a reason why most politicians talk in sanitized sound bites: Once you get out of that, you’re opening yourself up to get attacked."[12]
