Transcript Propaganda

Public Sphere--week 6
February 7, 2006
Public Communication:
PR and Social Marketing
(i) propaganda theory
and PR
(ii) Jacques Ellul
keywords
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mass society
crowd theory
propaganda theory
civic advocacy propaganda
cultural pedagogy
modernity and postmodernity
outline
(1) The shared history of PR and propaganda:
the role of propaganda theory
(2) Jacques Ellul: the major theorist of
propaganda in the 20th century
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the shared history of PR and propaganda:
the role of propaganda theory
crowd theory (as discussed in the unit notes) establishes an early
precedent for propaganda theory in the late 19th century
propaganda theory brings some of the basic assumptions taken from
crowd theory directly into the study of communication in the early
20th century
propaganda theory is the first formal body of theory developed with
regard to the study of mass media specifically
propaganda theory was developed by major propaganda theorists in
the United States such as Harold Lasswell and Walter Lippmann in
the period between WWI and II (1920s and 30s)
Ellul (profiled later in the Powerpoint) reflects a more mature and
critical view of propaganda
Propaganda theory is famous for two models of media influence:
(i) the hypodermic needle or magic bullet model and
(ii) the two-step model
Propaganda and PR: how do they relate?
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propaganda and PR were effectively the same thing to Bernays and other early
propaganda theorists and PR intellectuals
the lessons of propaganda in wartime were directly applied to peacetime PR
how were they similar?
 they both assumed considerable control over the audience’s understanding of the
message and the world
 they assumed that the point of communication was to change the thinking and behaviour
of an audience in a way that conformed with the interests of the sender
 communication was essentially defined as a one-way process not requiring or expecting
audience response
 communication is closely identified with power: the power to compel an audience to
accept the sender’s worldview, and the consequences of that acceptance for their
economic and political welfare
 they originated in the interests of those with concentrated political power (the state) or
economic power (corporate capital)
 they are especially implicated in ideology; they do deliberate and conspicuous
ideological work, insofar as they diffuse the views of those with power within society
Bernays on propaganda and PR
“When I came back to the United States, I decided
that if you could use propaganda for war, you
could certainly use it for peace. And propaganda
got to be a bad word because of the Germans..
using it. So what I did was to try to find some
other words, so we found the words Council on
Public Relations.”
Edward Bernays
1st generation propaganda theory:
the “hypodermic needle” or “magic bullet” model
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Harold Laswell and Walter Lippman
(1889-1974; image on left) develop the
study of propaganda, inspired by their
experiences in World War 1 and II
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the basic premise of propaganda theory
was that the (then new) mass media of
radio and film were capable of bringing
about enormous changes in the thought
and behaviour of Western publics
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this view of media’s relationship to
public is typically captured in the idea
of “strong effect”, i.e., the idea that
media can radically and instantly
change how people think and act
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the favourite metaphor of propaganda
theorists was to compare media to a
“hypodermic needle”
2nd generation propaganda theory:
the two-step model
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Paul Lazarsfeld (1901-1976) was a media
theorist who advanced the work of early
propaganda theorists, and who is identified as
a central figure in the “media effects”
tradition
in his 1944 book with Elihu Katz, The
People’s Choice, Lazarsfeld developed what’s
called the “two-step” model
the two-step model argued that media
influence was not direct from source to
receiver; rather, it was mediated by opinion
leaders (e.g., editorial writers, local
politicians, bosses, other authority figures)
and then had its influence on audience
the two-step model directs media analysis to
accommodate the fact that people are the
most powerful “media”, and that media
messages are made real and consequential as
they are made accountable to people’s lives
and social and cultural factors
(i) magic bullet (or hypodermic needle) model: 1st generation
(ii) two-step model: 2nd generation
Harold Laswell on politics
"Politics is the process
by which it is
determined who gets
what, when and how.”
Harold Laswell (1902-78;
his image on left)
2. Jacques Ellul and the theory of propaganda
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Ellul (1912-94) is the premier critic of
propaganda in the 20th century, and an
influence on other theorists of
propaganda
• family poverty required that he tutor
other children in German, Greek, Latin
and French from the age of 15
• he was born and raised in Bordeaux,
France, and influenced both by Marx
and Christian thought
• he was a theologian, an activist
specializing in youth issues, and one of
the greatest critics of propaganda and
technology
• his major works are:
 Propaganda (1965)
 The Technological Society (1964)
origin and definition of the term “propaganda”
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the term "propaganda" comes to us from the 16th century, at the time of the CounterReformation in England
the Counter-Reformation was a period defined by Roman Catholic campaign to reverse
Protestantism's spread in Europe (the Protestant "Reformation" led by Luther, Calvin,
and others), and reestablish Catholic supremacy in Europe.
the Jesuits - the intellectual elite in the Catholic church - formed a special group called
the "Society for the Propagation of the Faith" to produce information on behalf of
Catholicism and against the Protestant churches
this is the source of the word "propaganda" - i.e., inspired by the information campaign
that was "propagated" (or disseminated) by the Jesuits
definition of propaganda:
"The term 'propaganda' has since come to refer to the no-holds barred use of
communication to propagate specific beliefs and expectations."
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from Stanley Baran and Dennis Davis, “The Rise of Media Theory in the Age of Propaganda”
What are the features of propaganda according to Ellul?
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propaganda is not restricted to war-time communication aimed at winning the
hearts and minds of the enemy, or mobilizing a domestic population in support
of a war
rather, propaganda represents a set of conditions in which any message can
becomes propagandistic in nature
this means that propaganda exists in both war and peace time, and is factor or
property of communication even in everyday mainstream media culture
the features of propaganda are:
(i) scope of debate is limited to a narrow range
(ii) messages derive from and reflect dominant political and economic interests
(iii) messages marginalize and demonize opposing perspectives
(iv) messages use simplistic language and images and reduce complexity of reality
to digestible form. typically appeal to emotion, not to reason
(v) messages compel conformity of audience, and do not invite dialogue or
questions
the “lonely crowd”: the audience in an age of propaganda
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propaganda neither addresses the
individual nor the mass, but instead the
"lonely crowd”
the "lonely crowd" was his metaphor to
capture the experience of living in the
mass society
the object of propaganda is the
individual in the crowd, the very
condition of human identity in the mass
society of modernity
"Modern propaganda reaches individuals
enclosed in the mass and as participants
in that mass, yet it also aims at a crowd,
but only as a body composed of
individuals." (Ellul, Propaganda, p. 6)
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the “Lonely Crowd” was also the
subject of a famous book by sociologist
David Riesman
How is propaganda made?
(1) shaky foundations and faulty logic
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making bold assertions without evidence
use of untrustworthy authorities
reasoning with the wrong facts
moral context based on extremes and absolutes
rationalization (i.e., making up reasons for something we wanted to do
anyway)
faulty premises for argument
hasty generalization
. begging the question (i.e., assuming the truth of something that you set out to
prove)
attacking the person, not the argument (i.e., ad hominem arguments)
creating a convenient enemy (Nazis use of Jews to explain German hardship
before WWII)
blending fact and opinion without distinguishing them
(ii) intentional distortions
• twisting and distorting argument
• selective omission
• incomplete quotation (i.e., citing a source but changing it
to serve your argument)
• quoting out of context
• innuendo (i.e., offering remarks with underlying criticism
or accusation attached)
(iii) verbal tricks
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use of testimonials (having celebrities or authority figures endorse idea)
bandwagon appeal (peer pressure involved in sense that everyone is thinking
or doing something
plain folks and snob appeal approaches (assuming listeners are one's friends
and real people, or alternately, are fellow members of an elite)
use of generalities ("plastic words" or "newsspeak")
name calling. use of stereotypes. appeals to scientific authority (i.e., use of
fancy or technical phrases).
repetition
co-optation (neutralizing opposing phrases and images by changing their
meaning
association of message or person with powerful symbols (e.g., wrapping one's
self in flag)
audience addressed as children - as in need of instruction or direction
“Terror Alert” animated cartoon
questions for discussion
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How does the fact that propaganda research and practice in WWI
directly influenced the development of PR change how you view PR
today?
Social marketing is a frequent feature of our media culture. Nonprofits present messages that counsel us to practice safe sex and not
take drugs; corporations make us aware of their philanthropy;
governments remind us to be patriotic or to eat according to the
Canada Health Guide. Is such “civic advocacy propaganda” a form
of social engineering? If so, is it something we should be cautious
of?
What is postmodern about politics today? What is postmodern about
the way we communicate politically?