Collecting silences : a comparative analysis of silence in swedish radio from p1 and p3, 1980-1989

This article proposes a methodological approach to the analysis of large-scale radio archives. By collecting and measuring silences in broadcasting, the analysis explores stylistic differences within the Swedish media monopoly in the 1980s. This period marks the last decade of the Swedish public service monopoly and offers rigorous data on the development of mass media without deregulated economic competition. In 1993 Sweden became one of the last European countries to allow commercial radio, nevertheless, during the decade prior, competition was introduced from within the monopoly. At the time, Swedish radio featured several separate channels. This analysis focuses on the longstanding flagship channel P1, and its main competition, P3, which was considered a more youth-oriented alternative. Prior research has stressed the independent and different character of these two channels, subscribing to a depiction of a harmonically diversified media system. By analyzing the very audio data preserved from the broadcasting, it is possible to explore such stylistic divergences, as well as similarities, on a quantitative level. What unique features can be detected by studying the very signal, and are there homogenous tendencies beyond these differences? In order to approach this question, I propose a simple method: collecting silences. By means of basic signal processing, the amount of silence in broadcasting can be extracted and comparatively studied. Once data on the pauses and gaps in the broadcasting has been extracted, both the total amount and the number of occurrences can be analyzed. Moreover, the method can be applied both to the overall structure and on separate sections within the broadcasting, to achieve a more granular understanding. In doing this, it is possible to achieve new knowledge on the style and pace of broadcasting, and how these matters changed throughout the decade. The aim is both to render new insights into Swedish media history and to suggest new ways for digital humanities to integrate the vast potential of audio analysis