Analysis of Herman & Chomsky’s A Propaganda Model

Is the Public Sphere in Decline? Analysis of Herman & Chomsky’s A Propaganda Model

            In Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky’s book entitled ‘Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media’, an article labeled as ‘A Propaganda Model’ defines mass media as “a system for communicating messages and symbols to the general populace” (Herman & Chomsky, 1988, p.1).  There is unlimited nature and huge inequality however, that greatly influences the interests and choices in the media. These two greatly influences the happenings in the media, creating what they defined as the propaganda model that, according to Herman & Chomsky (1988), are composed of five filters: first are the size, ownership, wealth, and profit orientation of the dominant firms; second is advertising being the primary income source of the media; third is reliance on information provided by experts who have been funded by primary sources; fourth is ‘flak’ as a means of disciplining media; fifth and final is ‘anticommunism’ as national religion and control mechanism of media (p.2).

According to the two authors, “The five filters narrow the range of news that passes through the gates, and even more sharply limit what can become ‘big news’, subject to sustained news campaigns” (Herman & Chomsky, 1988, p.31).  With the dominant firms and the experts (including the government) initiating the propaganda, it appears that the public sphere is, indeed, on the decline.  As reasoned out by Herman & Chomsky (1988), “The secret of the unidirectionality of the politics of media propaganda campaigns is the multiple filter system… the mass media will allow any stories that are hurtful to large interests to peter out quickly, if they surface at all (p.33).  For this, what should have been made relatively ‘public’ are controlled by a few number of people; while what should have been made relatively ‘private’ are being controlled like they are the public.  As the media is being directed by few people, it declines or rejects the public sphere that should have been the main focus of the media.  Considering the state of news and current affairs in Australia, it is evident that a declining public sphere should never picture the future of the news media.

Bibliography

Herman, E. & Chomsky, N. (1998) Manufacturing consent: the political economy of the mass media. London, Vintage.