1. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky

2. A Propaganda Model A Propaganda Model Filters
1) Concentrated Ownership
2) Advertising
3) Sourcing
4) Flak
5) Anti-Communism

3. 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

4. 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

5. A Propaganda Model

6. 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)

7. 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

8. 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”

9. 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

10. 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.

11. A Propaganda Model

12. Media: Institutional Structure
Owners
Advertiser
Publishers
Publishers
Publishers
Editors
Editors
Editors
Editors
Editors
Consumer
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