Monopolistic Control Of Media In Mass Media

This week’s reading is two different part. A propaganda Model, by Herman and Chomsky, a famous part of their book, showing that how propaganda functions in mass media. The way of producing news in programs in mass media are to satisfy a certain group of people in a not democratic way. Chomsky and Herman argue that mass media, instead of producing a high quality news are only look at their mission to fulfill their own interests. They explain that in countries where monopolistic control on media, it’s easier to understand how propaganda is under control of a dominant elite, but it is difficult to see the systematic propaganda where media is private (Herman & Chomsky, 1988, P. 280).

To control the opinion of the mass, media use five “filters”:

Chomsky and Herman use an example from England to show how from 19th century and the radical newspaper which covering worker classes interest evolved during the time under pressure of wealthy people (the dominant media firms are quite large businesses; they are controlled by very wealthy people or by managers who are subject to sharp constrains by owners and other market –profit-oriented forces; and they are closely interlocked, and have important common interests, with other major corporations, banks, and governments (Herman & Chomsky, 1988, p. 289); 2) the advertising, as a primary income source. Explaining that the power of mass media is coming from money that they make from advertisements, so in fact the news and materials are all in the way to satisfy the sponsor’s interest. Through these materials and news reader should be encourage to use the product or in the way they should be

Most of the material is about Marxism, Neo-Marxism and Frankfurt School (which is about social science, sociology and neo Marxism). Theories like critical theory, cultural studies political economy theory. These theories has root in Marxist theory and explaining that “mass media often support the status quo and interfere with the efforts of social movements to bring about useful social charges (Baran & Davis, 2011, p. 235).we read about Marxism in this chapter which we have already discuss it before. Argument of Marx about class, production and culture that misleads people and encourage them to be in the way that dominant elite want them to be (Baran & Davis, 2011, p.