Transcript chapter 1 - Blogs @ Suffolk University

Manufacturing Consent: The Political
Economy of the Mass Media
Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky
A Propaganda Model
A Propaganda Model
Filters
1) Concentrated Ownership
2) Advertising
3) Sourcing
4) Flak
5) Anti-Communism
A Propaganda Model
Media Filters
1) Concentrated Ownership
This refers to “the gradual limitation and/or narrowing of media outlets due
to the high investment costs associated with remaining commercially
viable.”
Features:
a. Costs of running a newspapers skyrocket:
b. Media Concentration in the 1980s/ A Tiered Media
Hierarchy
A Propaganda Model
Media Filters
1) Concentrated Ownership: A Tiered Media Hierarchy
The media is defined by a ranking of media outlets.
The Top Tier: Most Influential
Newspapers
New York Times Company
Tribune Company
Cable TV
CNN
News Corporation
A Propaganda Model
A Propaganda Model
Media Filters
2) Advertising
Advertisers dictate content. Advertising has increased the concentration of
ownership.
Advertisers v. Consumer
“Advertising in a free market creates a situation where the
Advertiser, not the ‘final buyer,’ shapes the final product.” (14)
A Propaganda Model
Media Filters
2) Advertising: What is a Newspaper?
Newspapers: are products sold to advertisers and then distributed to the
public for a nominal fee.
Features:
a. Audience Quality (16)
Advertisers are politically discriminatory, they
support media outlets that promote views favorable to
business interests, and withhold funding from those that don’t.
Example: Used Car Sales
A Propaganda Model
Media Filters
3) Sourcing
Where does the media go to gather information?
Features:
a. Public Relations and Public Affairs Offices: Power and the
Media
b. Tactics for Managing the Media:
1) Flood the media with information.
2) Develop and Deploy/Employ “Experts”
A Propaganda Model
Media Filters
4) Flak: Policing the Media: “Working the Refs”
“‘Flak’ refers to negative responses to a media statement or program. (26)
Flak is related to Power:
“The ability to produce flak, and especially flak that is costly and
threatening, is related to power.”
Example: Conservative Media Watch Dog Groups
A Propaganda Model
Media Filters
5) Anti-Communism
Anti-Communism became by the 1980s an official state doctrine and a means
of identifying 0fficial enemies.
A Propaganda Model
Media: Institutional Structure
Owners
Advertiser
Editors
Consumer
Publishers
Publishers
Editors
Editors
Report
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Publishers
Editors
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Editors
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