Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media

Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky

A Propaganda Model

A Propaganda Model

Filters1) Concentrated Ownership 2) Advertising 3) Sourcing4) Flak5) Anti-Communism

A Propaganda Model

Media Filters1) Concentrated OwnershipThis 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 Filters1) Concentrated Ownership: A Tiered Media Hierarchy

The media is defined by a ranking of media outlets.

The Top Tier: Most InfluentialNewspapers

New York Times CompanyTribune Company

Cable TVCNNNews Corporation

A Propaganda Model

A Propaganda Model

Media Filters2) 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 Filters2) 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 Filters3) SourcingWhere does the media go to gather information?

Features:a. Public Relations and Public Affairs Offices: Power and the

Mediab. 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-CommunismAnti-Communism became by the 1980s an official state doctrine and a means

of identifying 0fficial enemies.

A Propaganda Model

Media: Institutional Structure

Owners

Publishers Publishers Publishers

Editors Editors Editors Editors Editors

Consumer Report Report Report Report Report Report

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