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| Author | Edward S. Herman,Noam Chomsky |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Politics |
| Publisher | Pantheon Books |
| Publication date | 1988 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover,Paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-3757-1449-9 |
| OCLC | 47971712 |
| Preceded by | The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians |
| Followed by | Necessary Illusions |
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media is a book by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, first published in 1988. The title makes use of the catch phrase coined by Walter Lippmann in Public Opinion.
The propaganda model
Presenting an analysis its authors call the "propaganda model", the book argues that because mass media news outlets are now run by large corporations, they are under the same competitive pressures as other corporations. According to the book, the pressure to create a stable, profitable business invariably distorts the kinds of news items reported, as well as the manner and emphasis in which they are reported. This occurs not as a result of conscious design but simply as a consequence of market selection: those businesses who happen to favor profits over news quality survive, while those that present a more accurate picture of the world tend to become marginalized.
Government influence on mass media
The book further points out issues with the dependency of mass media news outlets upon major sources of news, particularly the government. If a particular outlet is in disfavor with a government, it can be subtly 'shut out', and other outlets subsequently given biased, preferential treatment. This results in a loss in news leadership, and can also result in a loss of readership/viewership. Loss of advertising revenue, which is the primary income for most of the mass media (newspapers, magazines, television) is directly correlated with decreased viewership numbers. To minimize the possibilities of lost revenue, media outlets bias news reports to favor to government and business to maintain and increase profits.
The five filters
The book describes five filters which color the output of the mass media:
- Size, Ownership, and Profit Orientation of the Mass Media - discusses ties of media outlets to their parent corporations, the identity and wealth of major control groups, and the affiliations of outside directors
- The Advertising License to Do Business - how advertising-based media must cater to the desires of its advertisers
- Sourcing Mass Media News - official sources are rated as more factual by reporters due to constraints on their reporting assets. "In effect, the large bureaucracies of the powerful subsidize the mass media, and gain special access by their contribution to reducing the media's costs of acquiring ... and producing, news."
- Flak and the Enforcers - how powerful influence groups organize systematic responses to deviation from the corporate line by "rogue" reporters.
- Anticommunism as a Control Mechanism - this section is still relevant because the current "War on Terror" has been plugged in to replace anti-communism. See "Media Control, the Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda", Noam Chomsky, 2002 The Journalist from Mars p 69-100
Recent developments
- In 2006, the publisher of the Turkish language translation of the book was charged with "denigrating national identity" and "inciting hatred" under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, but was acquitted.
- In May 2007, both authors spoke at a conference at the University of Windsor in Canada summarizing developments related to the propaganda model presented in the book, which was followed by the publication of a proceedings in 2008 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its original publication.
- Manufacturing Consent is referenced by Professor Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) in the 1997 movie Good Will Hunting in which Maguire asks Will Hunting (Matt Damon) if Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States was actually better than Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent
- The documentary film Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, directed by Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick was based in part on Chomsky and Herman's work; the remainder of the film serves as a biography of Chomsky.
See also
- Propaganda
- Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media
- Media Imperialism
- The Engineering of Consent
References
- Butler, Daren (2006-07-04). "Turkish publisher faces prosecution over Chomsky book". Reuters. Retrieved 2006-07-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - "Turks acquitted over Chomsky book". BBC News. 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2006-12-20.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link)
- ^ Butler, Daren (2006-07-04). "Turkish publisher faces prosecution over Chomsky book". Reuters. http://www.kurdishaspect.com/doc75101.html. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
- ^ "Turks acquitted over Chomsky book". BBC News. 2006-12-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/6198021.stm. Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
- ^ Chomsky, Noam 2002 "Media Control, The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda", Seven Stories Press ISBN:1-58322-536-6
External links
- Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (Excerpt)
- Synopsis with Herman interview