<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Silence became one of the important aspects of the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article discusses how this social experience was presented in radio reportages, for which silence is not only a topic but also an element of the construction of the message. The reports of the Polish Radio, produced in lockdown conditions, document silence in a double perspective: the transformation of the broadcast sphere of large metropolises and the private sound space of the characters. Silence, as a phonic phenomenon, functions as a universal metaphor for fear, threat, “curse of isolation,” but also hope. Experiencing silence goes beyond the individual feeling thanks to a metaphoric line through which the recorded stories gain a universal context. The analysis of audible materials shows the mechanism of the constitution of these meanings, as well as selected media functions of silence as a tool for modelling content and managing the recipients’ attention.</p>
</abstract>

Silence became one of the important aspects of the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article discusses how this social experience was presented in radio reportages, for which silence is not only a topic but also an element of the construction of the message. The reports of the Polish Radio, produced in lockdown conditions, document silence in a double perspective: the transformation of the broadcast sphere of large metropolises and the private sound space of the characters. Silence, as a phonic phenomenon, functions as a universal metaphor for fear, threat, “curse of isolation,” but also hope. Experiencing silence goes beyond the individual feeling thanks to a metaphoric line through which the recorded stories gain a universal context. The analysis of audible materials shows the mechanism of the constitution of these meanings, as well as selected media functions of silence as a tool for modelling content and managing the recipients’ attention.

Silence as a Metaphor in the Polish Radio Reportages during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin

Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Film and Media Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Silence became one of the important aspects of the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article discusses how this social experience was presented in...

Silence as a Metaphor in the Polish Radio Reportages during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Published Online: Nov 15, 2021

Page range: 52 - 67

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ausfm-2021-0014

Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, radio reportage, sound, silence, metaphor

© 2021 Aneta Wójciszyn-Wasil, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Silence as a Metaphor in the Polish Radio Reportages during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Published Online: Nov 15, 2021

Page range: 52 - 67

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ausfm-2021-0014

KeywordsCOVID-19 pandemic, radio reportage, sound, silence, metaphor

© 2021 Aneta Wójciszyn-Wasil, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, radio reportage, sound, silence, metaphor