Deafening Data: Sound Measurement and Knowledge Making in the Cold War

Area of Science:

• Cold War Studies
• Media History
• Information Science

Background:

• Technical monitoring, assessing radio signal quality, gained significance during the Cold War due to propaganda and unreliable information.
• Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) faced deliberate interference from communist states, necessitating regular signal audibility measurements.
• Quantifiable technical data became a valuable tool in an era of ideological conflict and restricted information flow.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how technical monitoring transformed sound into data during the Cold War.
• To explore the intersection of engineering, intelligence, and political communication through acoustic data analysis.
• To situate these practices within the broader history of Cold War media and the origins of datafication.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of RFE/RL's technical monitoring recordings and signal audibility data.
• Examination of how acoustic categories were used to study closed societies during political crises.
• Review of statistical data provided by technicians to political officials regarding the
• radio war
• .

Main Results:

• Technical monitoring transcended mere signal quality assessment, becoming a method for political and social analysis.
• Acoustic data provided insights into the effectiveness of jamming and the reach of Western broadcasts in closed societies.
• Technicians' statistics offered a quantifiable measure of success in the
• radio war
• , influencing political communication.

Conclusions:

• Cold War technical monitoring practices demonstrate an early form of datafication, transforming intangible sound into measurable data.
• These practices bridged geographical, ideological, and professional divides, highlighting the multifaceted role of technical data.
• The study invites parallels between historical Cold War surveillance and contemporary data-driven monitoring regimes.