Transcript Media as Democratic Propaganda

Media as Democratic Propaganda
• Coercion of citizens is not direct
• Ethical and moral claim of the democratic
propagandist is itself to be debated
• Engagement with the propaganda techniques is
open…tends to be ‘enlightened’ ( voluntary,
majoritarian) and systemic ( not individual).
Democratic Propaganda II
• Mainstream media do not set out to control or
persuade,but that the effect is cumulative
– Expressions may be banal:
• Frame all news around conflict/negative framework
• Consumer fantasies
• Male, ethnocentric language or values
• Little proof of a conspiracy or that owners collude
• “it reminds us that persuasion works best when worming
our way into our unconsciousness yet leaving intact the
perception we have made our choices independently” (
Fleras, 2003).
Top Ten Chomsky and Herman
Quotes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
It is much more difficult to see a propaganda system at
work where the media are private and formal censorship
is absent. CC: 143.
The largest media systems constitute a new “Private
Ministry of Information and Culture” CC:145.
Advertisers acquired a ‘de facto licensing authority’
CC:152
Advertisers will want to avoid (anything) that interferes
with the buying mood CC:155
The Mass media are drawn into a symbiotic relationship
with powerful sources of information by economic
necessity and reciprocity of interest CC:155
Top Ten Cont’d
6. In effect, the large bureaucracies of the powerful (
government/business) news promoters subsidize the mass media
CC: 158
7. The producers of flak add to (the) strength and reinforce the
command of political authority CC: 163
8. Communist ideology helps mobilize the population against an
enemy, and because the concept is fuzzy it can be used against
anybody..CC:164
9. When anti communist fervor is aroused, the demand for serious
evidence in support of claims is suspended. Issues tend to be
framed in terms of a dichotomized world CC: 165
10. Conversely, propaganda campaigns will not be mobilized
where…(they) fail to serve the test of utility to elite interests
CC:167
How the Democratic Propaganda
Model Works
• Why are they writing this piece?
– To refute the positive historical narrative which
associates the ‘earning’ of independence from the
State with the free press
– To refute the libertarian dogma of the ‘free market’
during the 80s ( Thatcher, Regan, Mulroney)
– To draw attention to the inequality of wealth and power
and its effects on mass media
– Thus, from a critical, neo marxist perspective
What Method do H and C
use?
• They map money and power
• They provide an institutional and
structural analysis
How do they build their
argument?
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•
•
•
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The five filters are linked logically
Start with the economic structure and profit motive in capitalism
– Why?
• Dominant form of economic media organization in the US
• Begins with ‘base’ of economic structure
Then move to ‘flow’ of the economic transaction: sale of
advertising $
Move to the ‘production’ of news/sourcing to reprints
Then to the game or negotiation around sourcing; the flak
To the dominant ideology of the day
Where does this type of approach
fit in the discipline?
• In critical theory
• In political economy
• Michael Moore adapts this approach following
the owner of a big business( Roger and Me: GM
owner followed on downsizing)
How Well does the Argument do?
• Widely cited
• But, shows an historical datedness
– After 9-11, filters 3, 4 and 5 became much more
powerful
– “anti communism” after the fall of Berlin and ‘end’ of
the Cold War replaced
– Now, after 9-11 “anti terrorism” more relevant
– Propaganda most effective in the fifth filter and in fact
conditions the other 4
• But model cannot explain these historical shifts
• Model is US-centric
Brook’s adaptation of the Model
• Calls filters 1 & 2 the economic model (
advertising and ownership)
• Calls filter 3 the organizational filter: looks at
sourcing, news routines
• Shares the Filter 5 but calls it the ideological
filter
• Like Herman and Chomsky, argues that the filters
work to support established values and
institutions and that democracy is not well
served by Canada’s mass media
Where Brooks differs
• Underlines the importance of INDIRECT influence on
censorship
• Reinforces the trend to infotainment, but notes this is not
as far advanced in Canada
• Introduces PUBLIC media, but notes there are similar
constraints even in the case of taxpayer subsidy ( CC: 190)
• Emphasizes the importance of a “LEGAL/REGULATORY”
FILTER
– To explain presence of public sector in Canada
– To explain focus on framing media ownership in terms of
American penetration into Canadian markets ( CC:191)
– Which suggests different cultures and different elites can
cause some changes to elements of the model
Differences Cont’d
• Introduces a “TECHNOLOGICAL FILTER”-- the importance
of the medium, and the JPM ( CC: 195) with the bias to
stereotypes and confrontation
• Unlike Chomsky and Herman, avoids analysis of dirty
tricks, military-industrial complex
STUDY GUIDE
• BE SURE TO UNDERSTAND
BUSINESS INFLUENCES FROM
OUTSIDE THE MEDIA: CC 24
• GOVERNMENT INFLUENCES
OUTSIDE THE MEDIA: CC25
• SEE CC270-274 FOR A SUCCINCT
SUMMARY AND CRITIQUE OF
HERMAN AND CHOMSKY