Manufacturing Consent

stock here: not every controlled opposition or “red herring” is completely pointed at one goal only. Many have elements of the truth, as do all the best lies……Oldster slams it down here. Why is everyone’s prose better than my own? Being an engineer for 30 years certainly has something to do with that, LOL

Oldstersays:

May 5, 2024 at 7:08 pm•Edit

Noticed when reading Manufacturing Consent that CIA was given minor attention, despite the Senator Frank Church hearings in mid 1970s that disclosed extensive CIA – “rogue elephant” – mass media ambitions and influence. Operation Mockingbird does not appear in my edition’s index.

In CIA whistleblower John Stockwell’s book Praetorian Guard if memory serves he asserted that by the time JFK arrived and was departed, CIA controlled directly or by proxy (a) newspaper(s) in every capital city on Earth.

When it comes to media ownership and control, in Manufacturing Consent there are many references to “corporate” control, but nary a reference to the tribal allegiance of a very disproportionate percentage of those owners and controllers. Israel and the MOSSAD do not appear in the Index.

For these and other reasons I viewed Manufacturing Consent as a – albeit much ballyhooed – red-herring-rich hangout.

But yes, it was awesome awful to witness the ability to manufacture predominant global consent to, even enthusiasm for, the crimes, absurdities, and repudiations of common sense and experience that came with the Covid mind-f*ckery operation and the follow-up pure evil salvation injection.

“Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media” is a seminal book by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky that explores how media serves and propagates the agendas of the dominant societal interests. Here’s a brief summary in eight bullet points:

1. Propaganda Model: The book introduces the “propaganda model” of communication, arguing that mass media serves the interests of elite groups that control and finance them.
2. Media Ownership and Profit Motivation: The concentration of media ownership in the hands of a few large corporations is critical, as their profit motive aligns with presenting stories that satisfy corporate interests.
3. Advertising as Primary Income Source: Since advertising revenues are the major source of income for private media, media content is influenced to favor the interests of advertisers, often large corporations with specific agendas.
4. Sourcing Mass Media News: Media outlets rely on government, business, and expert sources that are economically and politically powerful. This reliance shapes the narrative of news towards elite perspectives.
5. Flak as a Disciplinary Mechanism: “Flak” refers to negative responses to a media statement or program. It is used by powerful private interests and the government to discipline the media, and shape the news in favor of the status quo.
6. Anticommunism as a Control Mechanism: During the Cold War, anticommunism was used as a major national religion and control mechanism to deter any dissenting views, especially in foreign policy matters.
7. Case Studies: The book examines case studies like the Vietnam War and the media’s role in supporting the government’s ideology, demonstrating how media often fails to challenge governmental narratives.
8. Democratic Society Implications: Chomsky and Herman argue that the media serves to “manufacture consent” among the public, making it complicit in the deception and subjugation of the populace, which undermines the functioning of a true democratic society.

These points summarize the core arguments of the book, highlighting the systematic biases present in the mass media, driven by economic and political interests.