cturin Consent
aboutwhat is known are not alway'saccurate.This ideahasbeenexploitedby rnedia
Perceptions
in the news is often
industriesas tlrey shapepublicopinion. The infbrmationpresented
, i s s i n ga c r u c i a lp o i n to f v i e , u vI.t i s f r l t e r e dt h r o u g ha n u l n b e ro f l e n s e s
r n i s l e a d i nagn d b i a s e sm
beforeit reachesthe public. We oftenget no inlbrrnationat all aboutitnportarttissues.Sotne
alternativelnediasoursprovideannualreporlson the importantissuesthat did not lnakethe
g orldperspective.
n e w so r t h a t p r o v i d ea v i e w o 1 ' w o r l di s s u e sf i o r n a d e v e l o p i l t w
Instituteof
Massachusetts
Noam Clrornsky,an activistand 'uvell-krrown
T e c h n o l o g y( M I T ) p r o f e s s oor f l i n g u i s t i c sp,o i n t so u t i n h i s b o o k sw h i l e
can easilycontrolthe infbrmationreceived
an authoritarian
,qovernment
by the public.controlcannotbe irnposedby force in ademocracy.L,imits
or
are placedon democracyby subtlemeansusedto control independent
dissidentviews.rvhichmight translateinto political,social,or
environmentalaction and be seenas a threat. The manufacturingof
public consentis accomplished
by settingthe newsagendausingvarious
t e c h n i q u e sT. h e s et e c h n i q u eisn c l u d es e l e c t i n tgo p i c sa n d i s s u e st h a tw i l l
suchas
be reported.llltering informationthroughdifferentvier,vpoints
effect
limitingdebate,and usinga screening
editors.tilne constraints.
rvherebyone ma.iorevent is usedas a focusto distractfiom other
significantevents.
Setting the Agenda
Chornskyseessocietyas consistingof a politicalclassof about20% ol'the populationrvlroare
well-educated
and play a role in decisionrnaking.They are nctteasilyfboledb1'
. u t .a s t h e c o l l e c t i v ea c t i o n so f m a i n s t r e a tnnr c d i ad e t e r m i n e s .
o v e r s i m p l i f l c a t i oann d i l l u s i o n b
of the world calt be
selects.shapes.controls.and restrictswhat getsreported.public perceptions
madeto satislythe needsof the donrinantelite. l'he consentof this groupto governlnentand
corporatepolicy is crucial. The role of the remaining80% of the populationis to lbllor.vthe
ideas.and to be entertained.
or controversial
rules.not be challengedlvith criticalperspectives
Massdiversionssuchas nationalsportsor shoppingchannelstendto pullthee peopleaway fiom
tlringsthat mattermoreand reducetheir interestin thinkingcriticallyaboutseriousissues.Films
to thosein positionsof authorit,v
aboutsportsand the rnilitaryoftenglorify unthinkirrgobedience
views of variousgroups.suchas a negativeview of Arab peoplein tlre
and portraystereotypical
in societyand its institutions
2001 liln Black llmyk Doy,n. The nonnalprocessof socialization
areacceptable.
help to tell us what ideas.attitudes.and behaviours
Propaganda
messages
and the widespreadpromotionof
is usedto describepersuasive
The term propaganda
propaganda.A critical
pafticularideas.Thereare manytechniquesusedin comrnunicating
for detectingpropaganda.The language
appreciationfbr the role of languageis necessary
chosento describepeopleand eventscancontributeto the "manufbcturing"of publicconselrtfbr
p o l i c i e st h a t f a v o u rt h e d o m i n a n e
t l i t e . T h i s i s p a r t i c u l a r ltyr u e i n s i t u a t i o nos f m i l i t a r yc o n f l i c t .
Few peopleuianttheir countryand youth to go to r,var.Even if a war is seenas right and
and military leadersmustoften use"loadedwords" to sell a war
legitirnateby some.governrnent
to persuade
the publicand win financialsupportfiorn electedpoliticians.
againstor liberationfiorn sotne
Every war Inustbe perceivedto be a.justcausethat is a def-ence
"cronies"
"henchtnen"
and
so thatthe world will becorne
and
his
nrenacing.murderousaggressor
a betterplace. Storiesof atrocitiesinvolvingdeadchildrenare oftenusedto help createthis
irnage. l-eadersrefbr to the "theatre"of war and often usespotlsanalogiesand acronyt'llsas a
to softenthe realhorrorsof war. Filmsof the titne continuethe lnessage.
fbrm o{-euphemism
weak,and evil while "our" side is strongand good.lvith loyal
is
The opposingside cor,vardly.
heroes.
doublespeak.A corurnonlyused
is usedto manipulateor mislead,it becornes
When.jargcln
to
unintended
civiliandeaths.
a
term
referring
exampleis the term collateraldamage,
SuppressingDissent
and
After the Septemberll.200l terroristattackson the UnitedStates,many.iournalists
mediaostensiblybecause
discussed
a perceivedsilencingof dissentin nrainstream
broadcasters
ofllcialssaidthat people'uvould
the Americanpublic was in no mood for criticisrn.Governrnent
haveto be carefulof what they saidand that the bestway they could deal with the tragedy'rvasto
get out and shop. In Norlh Arnerica,a continentthat pridesitselfon fieedornof speech.dissertt
view was regardedas unpatrioticin the U.S..and.in Canada.
againstthe mainstreanr
u n s u p p o r t i voef o u r U . S .n e i g h b o u r s .
news
in rnainstream
Thereare many "mediatruisms"or ideologicalbeliefsthat are presented
rnediaas true and that are rarelyquestioned.This actsas a subtlefornrol-propaganda.Included
to the statusquo and the competitivecorporate
is tlre view that thereis not realalternative
culture. Despitetheseso-calledtruisms,therearealwaysalternatives.
The Role of Journalists
to citizensso thatthey get a senseof the r,l'ider
Journalistslnakeusefulinformationaccessible
and responsible
and to maintain
try to be fair. balanced.
world aroundthem. Most.iournalists
journalists
play
important
role in
an
in
reportingthe
news.
Investigative
ethicalstandards
fbrcinggovernments
and companiesto revealnegativeinfonnationthat is in the public interest.
and actsas a check
is a sourceof informationneededto achieveaccountability
Good.fournalism
to write or air their reports
on mediacontrol. However.sotnejournalistsare underpressure
public
their competitors.The
reach
the
before
to
beforethey havefull infonnation,simply
controlof editorialopinionaboutsignificantissues"is more likely to
systern.with its centralized
in
rnediaand who arc interested
hirejournaliststhat fbllow the valuesand truismsof mainstream
of corporate
tendto approveor alterstoriesto meetthe expectations
keepingtheirjobs. E,ditors
'"groupthink" colnpliance
owners.actingas a filter for intbrmation.This can resultin a kind of
lvho reportin regittnsof
of the corporateculture.Journalists
u,ith the attitudesand expectations
war altd conf'lictare not as ableto repoftdirectlyas in pastcontlicts. Sincethe cont'lictol-the
1960sthroughthe early,1980s,then infbrmationwas revealedby journaliststo the rvorldabout
within
primarilythe tJ.S..their t'novement
the involvementand actionsof rvestenrgovernments.
providethernwith much of
soLrrces
warzoneshasbeenrestrictedand militaryand governrnent
their infbrmation.
field. Journalists
in manydevelopingcountriesf-acecensorship
can be a dangerous
.fournalisln
of the porverful
or evendeaththreatsfor reportingviewson issuesthatare not in the interests
g r o u p si n s o c i e t y .M a n y . i o u r n a l i sw
t so r k i n gi n c o n f l i c t z o n e h
s a v eb e e nk i l l e d .e i t h e r
inadvertently'.
as an act of terrorism,or becausethey havebeendirectly targetedas knorvingtoo
much aboutu'hat is going on in a particularsituation.
Questions
to constructreality.
t. Identifythreefiltersthat are usedto manipulateinfornration
in developingcountriesaffecteconotnicand
2. How might the useof statepropaganda
socialdeveloprnent?
in countriessuchas Canadaand the LJ.S.aifbct
3. How might the useof propaganda
geopolitical patterns?
4. Explain what is meantby a) ,sellingthe agentlu and b\ nrunu/itc'luringc'onsenland
mediato accomplishthese.
evaluatethe ability of rnainstream
in our
5. WlratevidencedoesNoam Chomskyhavethatdernocracyis comprornised
issues?
of
critical
have
outcome
on the
societv?What influencecouldthis