The Political Economy of the Mass Media (Session 4) Session 4: Manufacturing Consent (From Herman & Chomsky) Summarized By Drs. Rendro Dhani, MSi.

The Propaganda Model  The propaganda model of the media, citing the increased hyper-nature of the structural features of the media. These include the increasing concentration of media, the rise of the Internet, globalization, free trade, neo-liberalism, media deregulation, the decline in public broadcasting, the increase in public relations as an industry (and its effect on journalism) and overall corporate mergers.  Although the anti-communist ideology has decreased since the end of the Cold War, a new ideology has become preeminent: that of the pro-market ideology, or as Thomas Franks, in One Market Under God refers to it, 'market populism'.

The Propaganda Model: Myth of Liberal Media?  The quality of a democracy depends on the quality of the news. What is the media's agenda? You need to look at the institutional structure of the media; what kinds of information is being presented (or not?) Who manufactures the news?  What do we mean by `liberal' media? Is it a myth - this idea of the `liberal' media? No research supports that the media is liberal. Instead, research supports the view that the media is influenced by wealthy business and conservative interests.  But the media gets around this fact by always posing the question - is the media too liberal? This question is posed at the level of the journalists only; not at the level of the media ownership.  The propaganda model shows how the media is influenced by conservative elites.

The State & Media Control  In countries where the levers of power are in the hands of a state bureaucracy, the monopolistic control over the media, often supplemented by official censorship, makes it clear that the media serve the ends of a dominant elite.  It is much more difficult to see a propaganda system at work where the media are private and formal censorship is absent.  This is especially true where the media actively compete, periodically attack and expose corporate and governmental malfeasance, and aggressively portray themselves as spokesmen for free speech and the general community interest.  What is not evident (and remains undiscussed in the media) is the limited nature of such critiques, as well as the huge inequality in command of resources, and its effect both on access to a private media system and on its behavior and performance.

Media Filters Chomsky and Herman have delineated a set of filters to discuss the propaganda model. The First Filter: SIZE, OWNERSHIP, AND PROFIT ORIENTATION OF THE MASS MEDIA  Who owns the mass media? what are the corporate interests at work?  MEDIA OWNERSHIP and CONTROL: agenda-setting media. Corporations and private power - interlocking directorships. Media owners are much more conservative than mainstream Americans on most issues (ex: Conrad Black, Rupert Murdoch). Implicit media and government synergies - e.g., Murdoch and Tony Blair. Power rests with owners, not journalists.

Media Filters The Second Filter: ADVERTISING LICENSE TO DO BUSINESS  How does advertising and advertisers influence media coverage of specific events?  ADVERTISING: like Dallas Smythes' audience commodity. Sell a product (advertisers) to a market (audiences). Media can't afford to offend advertisers. What are the unwritten rules? In the U.S., corporations pay $270B/year to the media to advertise products. Advertisers demand a supportive editorial and programming environment. "Corporate censorship". Case of PBS - GE funds McLaughlin Show, conservative views dominate.

Media Filters Live Video The Third Filter: SOURCING MASS MEDIA NEWS  Who are the government or corporate sources of news? PR firms? who are the experts cited?  NEWS MAKERS: media depends on a steady stream of powerful news sources; reporters with regular beats. Sourcing ande celebrity endorsers. Pressure Groups: think tanks, corporate sponsors, industry groups, lobbyists....

Media Filters Live Video The Fourth Filter: FLAK AND THE ENFORCES  Who organizes negative responses to media statements or programs? (in response to media events or news events), what individuals, organizations do they represent?  NEWS SHAPERS: Journalists are not supposed to express opinions except in specific editorial realms. Instead, an 'expert' is put in the media to provide an `objective' or 'acceptable' opinion. Conservative think tanks cultivate experts; i.e, American Enterprise Institute, a pro-business group, was quoted 1,297 in 1995 media. Other groups include: Heritage, Brookings, American Enterprise, Cato. Flow of information: business groups  corporate-funded conservative think tanks  media  government.

Media Filters The Fifth Filter: ANTICOMMUNISM AS A CONTROL MECHANISM  Is this still valid today? or has it been transmitted instead to fears of sexual indecency?  Communism as the ultimate evil has always been the specter haunting property owners, as it threatens the very root of their class position and superior status.  This ideology helps mobilize the populace against an enemy, and because the concept is fuzzy it can be used against anybody advocating policies that threaten property interests or support accommodation with Communist states and radicalism. It therefore helps fragment the left and labor movements and serves as a political-control mechanism.

Case Studies  U.S. attack on welfare state (one-sided coverage, `Welfare Queens', don't cut defense budget for welfare even though welfare's budget is minuscule compared to defense).  Social Security Attack: made to invoke panic; scam is to privatize a government system that is very successful and effective.  Attack on healthcare: also privatization, interests of insurance companies.  Labor and Business coverage: no labour coverage. Where are the interests of the wage earner? It's the 1% of U.S. population that is in the stock market.

Case Studies International Issues: anti-communism and the free market. U.S. anti- communism pushes foreign policy into conservative direction. Yeltsin/Russia: privatization of markets where Westerners are benefiting and the majority of Russians are suffering. Cuba: `Cuba is the enemy'. Dictators and democracy: Saddam Hussein, Soeharto, Nicaragua. In the latter two, media's acceptance of a phony election vs. media denial of an ethical election. Live Video

Questions?