Can You Hear Me Now?

The New York Times' Brian Stelter posted this tweet earlier this week. It serves as an example of the importance of sound to the media coverage of the protests in Egypt.
And Gil-Scott Heron thought the revolution would not be televised.
The past few weeks the world has been watching the protests in Egypt. We have not just watched, but we have also tuned in. This is history in the making, especially considering that many of the information we are getting of this protest movement come from the ground, from the protesters themselves, and their requests have gone viral on Youtube and Twitter.
Earlier this week, I was watching CNN and its coverage of the protesters at Tahrir Square after Mubarak’s statement that he would not step down. On several occasions the broadcasters on CNN asked viewers to listen to protesters. The grainy images of the mobile crowds had been playing in the background all afternoon, a reminder of what was going on while the broadcasters offered information and analysis. But at times the broadcasters stopped speaking so viewers could listen to the crowds. The grainy images emitted a dull roar, the combination of all of the cries and statements from the protesters. The cameras followed people down streets, but the roar was constant. It struck me how often the plea to listen came up during the broadcast. On Friday, when Mubarak resigned, I tuned in online (from work) to CNN, MSNBC, and BBC America. The broadcasters made the same requests: let’s tune in to the crowds at Tahrir Square. See early in this MSNBC video where Brian Williams encourages viewers to listen to the protesters:
The newsmedia seemed to offer the sounds to its viewers, but what is at stake when that happens? How are the sounds being coded? Mark Branter’s post on sound and sanity in the context of the Rally to Restore Sanity (which took place on October 30th 2010), reminds us that oftentimes noise and screaming is connected to “irrationality and fear.” He points out, “Public noise is senseless sound, while rational debate is meaningful sound.” In this context, the constant plea from newscasters for the American public to “listen in” to the crowds at Tahrir Square takes a different spin. Are we insiders looking at the Other scream and shout? When the newscasters ask us to tune in to the pleas and screams coming from the Egyptian crowds I wonder if the newscasts frame them as senseless crowds because of the way that they present these sounds. In any instance, this presentation of sound is not innocent. Some may argue that it is just a request from Western media to pay attention to what the crowds are saying, but I believe that we cannot truly listen to their cries on Tahrir Square when we still hold in place this analogy of “sound/noise::rationality/irrationality.” Many agreed that Mubarak should listen to the pleas of the crowds, but are we listening to them as well?
The coverage of the Egyptian protests shows us how complicated listening is. The protesters are not just seen but heard (only when the network wants the viewers to listen, mind you) by viewers. The sonic aspect of this movement is reinforced when we think of the “Speak-to-Tweet” service, set up to allow Egyptian protesters to tweet when the Egyptian government turned off all internet communication. We could read AND hear what the protesters were saying.
When media outlets choose to tune in to the protests in Egypt, this is an example of how important sound is to narratives. Visuals are not the only story, is what I get from the protest coverage. (And letting the world hear the protesters is a step in the right direction.) The coverage and its inclination toward the audio of the protesters tells me that it’s not just a matter of shock value but it’s also a statement of the role of audio in the news. It’s supposed to be a reflection of what is going on at the moment, like taking the temperature of the crowds. As others have said on this blog (for example, Priscilla Peña Ovalle) sound is usually linked to the visual, and the hierarchy of senses in our society always has the visual as the most important. Listening is important, but we must also think about how we listen, and what filters the sounds we listen to.
Share this:
ISSN 2333-0309
Recent Posts
- “It’s Time to End the Publishing Gatekeeping!”: SO! stands with RaceB4Race
- Listen to yourself!: Spotify, Ancestry DNA, and the Fortunes of Race Science in the Twenty-First Century
- Black Excellence on the Airwaves: Nora Holt and the American Negro Artist Program
- Blank Space and “Asymmetries of Childhood Innocence”
- Youth, Reverberations, and Detroit’s Most Charismatic Rapper
Archives
Categories
Search for topics. . .
Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!
- The Voices Of Black Women Were Essential To Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound npr.org/2021/01/21/959… 6 hours ago
- RT @Vijay_Ramjattan: Some repeated lies about accents: 1) Some are "neutral" 2) You can "reduce" them 3) They're related to language profi… 10 hours ago
- RT @Vijay_Ramjattan: Many Black and brown people are pressured to “whiten” their voices at work, but then they get perceived as not soundin… 10 hours ago
Like us on Facebook!
RSS Feeds
Authors Sounding Out!
-
202smike
-
Tahmahkera
-
aalbin2014
-
abradschwartz
-
abronfman
-
acajc3
-
Adam Craig
-
admiller99
-
afamsound
-
airekb
-
Andy Kelleher Stuhl
-
Wanda Alarcon
-
Alexandrine Lacelle
-
Alexander W. Cowan
-
Alexis Deighton MacIntyre
-
Alexander Russo
-
allisonoyoung1
-
alyxvesey
-
amandakeeler35
-
andré m. carrington Ph.D.
-
Tara Rodgers
-
Andreas Duus Pape
-
Aaron Trammell
-
annafriz
-
Andrew J. Salvati
-
aramsinnreich
-
arenaboy14
-
asamendelsohn
-
ashoncrawley
-
atau20
-
aureliomezavaldez
-
austinthomasrichey
-
awrasmussen
-
badcoverversion
-
Bridget Hoida
-
Benjamin Gold
-
bentausig
-
bighapa75
-
Bill Bahng Boyer
-
bonniesmillar
-
brianedgarhanrahan
-
@unibcarlson
-
brownellcassie
-
caleblazaromoreno
-
lcardoso
-
D. Ines Casillas
-
cbudhaditya
-
celestedaymoore
-
charlesweiselberg
-
chrischienblog
-
clairescooley
-
camscott
-
Colin Black
-
cooksterkc
-
cpastdaboxsoundwordwaves
-
croman2
-
Craig Shank
-
Caitlin Marshall
-
Shawn Higgins
-
cyndaminthia
-
Christie Zwahlen
-
Dan DiPiero
-
danielcavicchi
-
Danijela Kulezic-Wilson
-
davdlee
-
davidbgreenberg
-
davidfontnavarrete
-
davidhendy
-
ddkeane
-
debraraecohen
-
Denise Gill
-
derekvaillant
-
dhad21
-
Monica De La Torre
-
Brittnay Proctor
-
dorothyk98
-
dpettman
-
drdawkins
-
J. Stoever
-
Osvaldo Oyola
-
drtonieshaltaylor
-
Meghan Drury
-
dtraversscott
-
Daniel A. Walzer
-
earlbrooksumbc
-
ecopoetics
-
ehrick2014
-
eleanorkr
-
eleona
-
Elizabeth Newton
-
empetch
-
Emma Leigh
-
encaramarla
-
Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo
-
ericweisbard
-
erikgranly
-
erupton
-
Emmanuelle Sonntag
-
estherbourdages
-
ewl4p
-
fallingmountaineering
-
fbridges
-
Feminatronic
-
flipsin77
-
fugikawa
-
gameaudioschool
-
gaylewald1
-
gcornish
-
ghostyblog
-
ginaarnold
-
Gretchen Jude
-
Gus Stadler
-
guestlistener
-
Holger Schulze
-
hystericalblackness
-
iandunham920
-
ianrawes
-
iancoss
-
imanikaijohnson
-
irisviverosavendao
-
jacobsmith1970
-
James Hodges
-
jaymloomis
-
jbraddoc
-
jdowdell
-
jeajou
-
Jeb Middlebrook
-
jeckstein
-
Jentery Sayers
-
jeteague
-
jgabrielaj
-
jhyland0
-
jlzweck
-
jmartinvest
-
Josh Garrett-Davis
-
jnmusser
-
Jonathan Sterne
-
Josh Ottum
-
Joshua Hudelson
-
jstasiowska
-
jtlsty1
-
Juan Sebastian Ferrada
-
juntinghuang
-
justinadamsburton
-
jwernimont
-
Kaj Ahlsved
-
kaitlynliu
-
katbat67
-
kellyhiser
-
Kelly J. Baker
-
kemiadeyemi
-
kevin13allred
-
knw8433
-
kristinmoriah
-
kstedman
-
kswinehart
-
kwjager
-
laorale
-
priscilla peña ovalle
-
liam665
-
Lilian Radovac
-
lindaokeeffe
-
Yun Emily Wang
-
lucrecciaquintanilla4010
-
Mack Hagood
-
madisonianmoore
-
magz hall
-
Maile Colbert
-
maramills
-
marcus3001
-
Maria Sonevytsky
-
maritjmac
-
markadavidson5
-
marlenriosh
-
marycaton
-
mattlaferty
-
mbrantner
-
mcenaney
-
mcmahonmr
-
John Melillo
-
Melle Kromhout
-
mhabellp
-
mhelquist
-
michellecommander
-
mikederrico
-
Milena
-
mlevine24
-
mseth2
-
kgoldschmitt
-
nabeelzuberi
-
napolinjb
-
Michelle M. Sauer
-
Nichole Rustin-Paschal
-
nicolefurlonge
-
nse
-
nkhverma
-
zeitkunst
-
nocoates
-
norieguthrie
-
Nick Mizer
-
obrienmurga
-
Erika
-
Owen Marshall
-
palmerlandon
-
Steven Hammer
-
pavitrasundar
-
Peter DiCola
-
Parker Fishel
-
pinkstoncb
-
pjaikumar
-
Lewis
-
primusluta
-
j.l. stoever
-
qiushixu
-
Robert Ford
-
rajnaswaminathan
-
Ronit Ghosh
-
rkheshti
-
rmjames
-
Regina N. Bradley
-
robertcryan
-
Roger Moseley
-
rsl318
-
ruichaves01
-
ruigomescosta
-
santaperversa
-
Sarah Kessler
-
sbahssin
-
sceraso
-
schedel
-
schizophone
-
sege22
-
shakiraholt
-
shannonkmooney
-
Shantam Goyal
-
shaynamsilverstein
-
Liana M. Silva
-
smayberryscott
-
snpinto
-
sonialidesigns
-
Sphinxy
-
ssepulve588
-
sshorowitz
-
ssmithsoundingout
-
Stuart
-
suhrhcmiamiohedu
-
svancour
-
svhinojos
-
Tara
-
tblake81
-
tedsammons
-
Benjamin Bean
-
theluisgarcia
-
Tim J. Anderson
-
timm750
-
travisgosa
-
trevorboffone
-
valdes23
-
Karen Tongson
-
vincentandrisani
-
Dr. O'C
-
Benjamin Wright
-
wsgershon
-
yessica07garcia
-
yhoward76
-
yvonbonenfant
-
zaf3
-
Carlo Patrão
Blogroll
- A Closer Listen
- A New Theater of Sound
- Acousmata
- Analog Tara
- Antenna
- Anthropology of Sound
- Aquarium Drunkard
- Aram Sinnreich's blog
- Audio Cookbook
- Binaural Diaries
- Binaural/Nodar
- Blackadelic Pop
- Blogging Ethnomusicologists
- Bodies|Sounds|Technologies
- British Library's Sound Recordings
- Bully Bloggers
- Captivating Sound
- Create Digital Music
- Cultural Organology
- Designing Sound
- Diary of a Bad Housewife (Alice Bag)
- Disquiet
- Dr. Guy's MusiQologY
- Ear Room
- Ear to the Ground
- Electra
- European Sound Studies Association
- Everyday Listening
- Fembot
- Feminist Music Geek
- Filmsound.org
- First Sounds
- Girrlsound
- Greg Goodale
- HASTAC Sound Forum
- Hear is Queer
- Her Beats
- Her Noise Archive
- I have synth
- IASPM-US
- Interference
- Journal of Sonic Studies
- Kathleen (Hanna)'s Blog
- Klangschreiber
- Land Recorder
- Listen Party
- Listening 440 (Josh kun)
- London Sound Survey
- Lubricity (Alex W. Rodriguez)
- Luz Maria Sanchez
- Mactrasound (Mack Hagood)
- Mediateletipos
- Mobile Sound
- Mudd Up! (DJ Rupture)
- Museum of Endangered Sounds
- New Black Man (Mark Anthony Neal)
- New York Society for Acoustic Ecology
- noise for airports
- Now Hear This
- Phonographies
- Phonozoic
- Pink Noises
- Preservation Sound
- Radiolab
- ROBOPROF.ORG (Kembrew McLeod)
- SAIC Department of Sound Blog
- Scoping UK Sound Studies
- Scott Topics (Scott Poulson Bryant)
- Sensate
- Sense and the City
- Sensory Studies
- Social Sound Design
- Sociosound
- Sonic Terrain
- Soul Sides
- Sound + Design
- Sound and Music
- Sound Art Text
- Sound Clash
- Sound Effects
- Sound in Media Culture
- Sound is Art
- Sound Studies Lab
- Sound/Unsound
- Soundcities
- Soundlandscapes
- Sounds Like Noise
- Sounds Like Staten Island
- Spooky and the Metronome
- sterneworks.org
- Super Bon! (Jonathan Sterne)
- Televisual
- The Ardent Audience
- The Big City
- The Field Reporter
- The Foley Diaries
- The Incredible Kaleidophone
- The Music of Sound
- The Soundscape
- The Theater of the Mind
- Turbulence
- Video Game Audio
- Wayne and Wax
- Weird Vibrations
- Women's Audio Mission
- World Listening Project
- Zsonics
Recent Comments