Book description
We normally think that the press are cantankerous, obstinate, and
ubiquitous in its search for truth. In
Manufacturing Consent
Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky show how an underlying elite consensus
largely structures all facets of the news. Far from challenging
established power, the media work hard to discover and mirror its
assumptions. The authors skilfully dissect the way in which the
marketplace and the economics of publishing significantly shape the
news. They reveal how issues are framed and topics chosen, and contrast
the double standards underlying accounts of free elections, a free
press, and governmental repression. The authors conclude that the modern
mass media can best be understood in terms of a 'propaganda model'. News
and entertainment companies dedicate themselves to profit within the
established system. Their interests require that they support the
governing assumptions of state and private power. The propaganda model
provokes outrage from journalists, editors and broadcasters, but twenty
years after first publication, Manufacturing Consent
remains the most important critique of the mass media. Edward S.
Herman is Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University
of Pennsylvania. Among his books are Corporate Control, Corporate Power
; The Real Terror Network: Terrorism in Fact and Propaganda
; Demonstration Elections: U. S.-Staged Elections in the Dominican Republic
, Vietnam and El Salvador
(with Frank Brodhead) and The Rise and Fall of the Bulgarian Connecti
on (with Frank Brodhead). Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor in the
Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Boston. A member of the American Academy of Science, he
has published widely in both linguistics and current affairs. His
previous books include At War with Asia
, Towards a New Cold War
, Fateful Triangle: The U. S., Israel and the Palestinians
, Necessary Illusions
, Hegemony or Survival
, Deterring Democracy
and Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy.
