BellaCH at 15:58, 23 February 2022

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{{short description|Non-fiction book by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
| image = Manugactorinconsent2.jpg
| caption = Cover of the first edition
| authors = {{Plainlist|
* [[Edward S. Herman]]
* [[Noam Chomsky]]}}
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| subject = [[Media of the United States]]
| publisher = [[Pantheon Books]]
| pub_date = 1988
| media_type = Print ([[Hardcover]], [[Paperback]])
| pages =
| isbn = 0-375-71449-9
| dewey = 381/.4530223 21
| congress = P96.E25 H47 2002
| oclc = 47971712
| preceded_by = [[The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians]]
| followed_by = [[Necessary Illusions]]
}}
'''''Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media''''' is a 1988 book by [[Edward S. Herman]] and [[Noam Chomsky]]. It argues that the [[Media of the United States|mass communication media of the U.S.]] "are effective and powerful ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive [[propaganda]] function, by reliance on market forces, internalized assumptions, and [[self-censorship]], and without overt coercion", by means of the [[propaganda model]] of communication.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Herman|first1=Edward S.|last2=Chomsky|first2=Noam|title=Manufacturing Consent|publisher=Pantheon Books|location=New York|page=306}}</ref> The title refers to [[consent of the governed]], and derives from the phrase "the manufacture of consent" used by [[Walter Lippmann]] in ''[[Public Opinion (book)|Public Opinion]]'' (1922).<ref>p. xi, ''Manufacturing Consent''. Also, p. 13, Noam Chomsky, ''Letters from Lexington: Reflections on Propaganda'', Paradigm Publishers 2004.</ref> The book was honored with the [[Orwell Award]].

A 2002 revision takes account of developments such as the [[fall of the Soviet Union]]. A 2009 interview with the authors notes the effects of the internet on the propaganda model.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mullen |first1=Andrew |title=The Propaganda Model after 20 Years: Interview with Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky |journal=Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture |date=2009 |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=12–22 |doi=10.16997/wpcc.121|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Background ==

===Origins===
Chomsky credits the origin of the book to the impetus of [[Alex Carey (writer)|Alex Carey]], the Australian [[Social psychology|social psychologist]], to whom Herman and Chomsky dedicated the book.<ref>Chomsky, Noam. 1996. ''[[Class Warfare]]''. Pluto Press. p. 29:

"Ed Herman and I dedicated our book, ''Manufacturing Consent'', to him. He had just died. It was not intended as just a symbolic gesture. He got both of us started in a lot of this work."</ref> The book was greatly inspired by Herman's earlier financial research. Since Herman's contribution to the book was so important, Chomsky insisted on putting Herman's name in front of his name, contrary to the pair’s habit of alphabetic listing. Herman and Chomsky were close friends for fifty years.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Edward S Herman: Media critic who held the press to account|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/edward-s-herman-scholar-whose-radical-critiques-of-us-media-unpacked-the-fake-news-caricatured-by-a8067131.html|date=2017-11-21|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref>

===Authorship===
Herman was a professor of finance at [[Wharton School]] at the [[University of Pennsylvania]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Laferber|first=Walter|date=1988-11-06|title=Whose News?|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/06/books/whose-news.html|access-date=2020-05-28|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and Chomsky is a linguist and activist scholar, who wrote many other books, such as ''[[Towards a New Cold War]]''.<ref name=":0" /><ref>To learn more about Noam Chomsky, there is a website that collects all of his all articles, debates, and personal information: https://chomsky.info/</ref> Before ''Manufacturing Consent'' was published in 1988, the two authors had collaborated on the same subject before. Their book ''[[Counter-Revolutionary Violence: Bloodbaths in Fact & Propaganda]]'', a book about American foreign policy and the media, was published in 1973. The publisher for the book, a subsidiary of [[WarnerMedia|Warner Communications Incorporated]], was deliberately put out of business after printing 20,000 copies of the book, most of which were destroyed, so the book was not widely known.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chomsky|first=Noam|title=Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media: Talk Delivered at University of Wisconsin–Madison, March 15, 1989|url=https://chomsky.info/19890315/|access-date=2020-05-28|website=chomsky.info}}</ref>

According to Chomsky, "most of the book [''Manufacturing Consent'']" was the work of [[Edward S. Herman]].<ref name=":2">[[Peter Wintonick|Wintonick, Peter]], and [[Mark Achbar]]. 1995. ''[[Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media]]''. Montreal: Black Rose Books.</ref>{{Rp|8}} Herman describes a rough division of labor in preparing the book whereby he was responsible for the preface and chapters 1–4 while Chomsky was responsible for chapters 5–7.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|204}} According to Herman, the propaganda model described in the book was originally his idea, tracing it back to his 1981 book ''Corporate Control, Corporate Power''.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|205}} The main elements of the propaganda model (though not so-called at the time) were discussed briefly in volume 1 chapter 2 of Herman and Chomsky's 1979 book ''[[The Political Economy of Human Rights]]'', where they argued, "Especially where the issues involve substantial U.S. economic and political interests and relationships with friendly or hostile states, the mass media usually function much in the manner of state propaganda agencies."<ref>Herman, Edward, and Noam Chomsky. 1979. ''[[The Political Economy of Human Rights]], Volume I: The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism''. Cambridge: South End Press.</ref>

== {{Anchor|Five filters of editorial bias}}Propaganda model of communication ==
{{main|Propaganda model}}
The book introduced the propaganda model of communication, which is still developing today.

The propaganda model for the manufacture of public consent describes five editorially distorting filters, which are applied to the reporting of news in mass communications media. These five filters of editorial bias are:
# ''Size, ownership, and profit orientation'': The dominant mass-media outlets are large profit-based operations, and therefore they must cater to the financial interests of the owners such as corporations and controlling investors. The size of a media company is a consequence of the investment capital required for the mass-communications technology required to reach a mass audience of viewers, listeners, and readers.
# ''The advertising license to do business'': Since the majority of the revenue of major media outlets derives from [[advertising]] (not from sales or subscriptions), advertisers have acquired a "de facto licensing authority."<ref>Curran, James, and [[Jean Seaton]]. 1981. ''[[Power Without Responsibility : the press and broadcasting in Britain|Power Without Responsibility: The Press and Broadcasting in Britain]]'' (1st ed.). This book has many subsequent editions.</ref> Media outlets are not commercially viable without the support of advertisers. News media must therefore cater to the political prejudices and economic desires of their advertisers. This has weakened the [[working class]] press, for example, and also helps explain the attrition in the number of newspapers.
# ''Sourcing mass media news'': Herman and Chomsky argue that "the large bureaucracies of the powerful ''subsidize'' the mass media, and gain special access [to the news], by their contribution to reducing the media's costs of acquiring [...] and producing, news. The large entities that provide this subsidy become 'routine' news sources and have privileged access to the gates. Non-routine sources must struggle for access, and may be ignored by the arbitrary decision of the gatekeepers." Editorial distortion is aggravated by the news media's dependence upon private and [[government]]al news sources. If a given newspaper, television station, magazine, etc., incurs disfavor from the sources, it is subtly excluded from access to information. Consequently, it loses readers or viewers, and ultimately, advertisers. To minimize such financial danger, news media businesses editorially distort their reporting to favor government and corporate policies in order to stay in business.<ref name = MC>Herman and Chomsky, ''Manufacturing Consent''.</ref>{{Clarify|date=February 2021|reason=Who are the bureaucracies? What is this talking about exactly? [[Wire services]] such as Associated Press?}}
# ''Flak and the enforcers'': "Flak" refers to negative responses to a media statement or program (e.g. letters, complaints, lawsuits, or legislative actions). Flak can be expensive to the media, either due to loss of advertising revenue, or due to the costs of legal defense or defense of the media outlet's public image. Flak can be organized by powerful, private influence groups (e.g. [[think tank]]s). The prospect of eliciting flak can be a deterrent to the reporting of certain kinds of facts or opinions.<ref name = MC/>
# ''Anti-communism/war on terror'': Anti-communism was included as a filter in the original 1988 edition of the book, but Chomsky argues that since the end of the [[Cold War]] (1945–91) [[anticommunism]] was replaced by the "[[war on terror]]" as the major social control mechanism.<ref>Chomsky, Noam. 1997. ''Media Control, the Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda''.</ref>{{Clarify|reason=Why is this a filter? Why do the media companies care about this/allow themselves to be influenced by this? What's the connection?|date=February 2021}}

==Influence and impact==
{{POV section|date=June 2020}}
* In 2006, Fatih Tas, owner of the Aram editorial house, along with two editors and the translator of the revised, 2001 edition of ''Manufacturing Consent'' were prosecuted by the Turkish government for "stirring hatred among the public" (per Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code) and for "denigrating the national identity" of Turkey (per [[Article 301 (Turkish penal code)|Article 301]]). The reason cited was that the introduction to this edition addresses the 1990s' Turkish news media reportage of governmental suppression of the Kurdish populace. The defendants were ultimately acquitted.<ref>{{cite news|date=2006-12-20|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/6198021.stm|title=Turks acquitted over Chomsky book|work=BBC News|access-date=2006-12-20 | location=London}}</ref><ref>[[Lawrence Van Gelder|Van Gelder, Lawrence]], ed. 5 July 2006. "[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/05/arts/05arts.html Arts, Briefly] {{Subscription required}}." ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref>
* In 2007, from May 15–17 at the ''20 Years of Propaganda?: Critical Discussions & Evidence on the Ongoing Relevance of the Herman & Chomsky Propaganda Model'' conference held at the [[University of Windsor]], Herman and Chomsky summarized developments to the [[propaganda model]] on the occasion of the vicennial anniversary of first publication of ''Manufacturing Consent''.<ref>Boin, Paul D. 2007. [http://web4.uwindsor.ca/propaganda ''Herman & Chomsky Media Conference'']. [[University of Windsor]]</ref>
* A 2011 Chinese translation was published by [[Peking University]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Herman|first1=Edward S.|title=製造共識: 大眾傳播的政治經濟學 = Zhi zao gong shi: Da zhong chuan bo de zheng zhi jing ji xue|last2=Chomsky|first2=Noam|date=2011|publisher=Peking University|isbn=978-7-301-19328-0|location=Beijing|oclc=774669032}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|first=Yuezhi|last=Zhao|title=Yuezhi Zhao: Edward Herman and Manufacturing Consent in China|url=http://mediatheoryjournal.org/yuezhi-zhao-edward-herman-and-manufacturing-consent-in-china/|date=2018-08-25|website=Media Theory|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref>

==Documentary adaptation==
The 1992 documentary film ''[[Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media]]'' directed by [[Mark Achbar]] and [[Peter Wintonick]] first opened at the [[Film Forum]]. This three-hour adaptation considers the propaganda model of communication and the politics of the mass-communications business, with emphasis on Chomsky's ideas and career.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Canby|first=Vincent|date=1993-03-17|title=Review/Film; Superimposing Frills On a Provocative Career|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/17/movies/review-film-superimposing-frills-on-a-provocative-career.html|access-date=2020-05-28|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
*''[[Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media]]''
* [[Media imperialism]]
* [[Media bias]]
* [[Nicaraguan general election, 1984]] (US media coverage of these is the subject of Chapter 3)
* [[Politico-media complex]]
* ''[[The Engineering of Consent]]''
* ''[[Merchants of Doubt]]''
* ''[[Spin (1995 film)]]''
* ''[[The Panama Deception]]''
* [[Preference falsification]]
* [[Filter bubble]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* Text on [https://archive.org/details/pdfy-NekqfnoWIEuYgdZl archive.org]
* {{cite web|url=http://www.chomsky.info/onchomsky/198901--.htm|title=Synopsis with Herman interview|author=|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627191223/http://www.chomsky.info//onchomsky/198901--.htm|archive-date=2009-06-27}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Mullen |first1=Andrew |title=The Propaganda Model after 20 Years: Interview with Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky |journal=Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture |date=2009 |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=12–22 |doi=10.16997/wpcc.121|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal|title=Manufacturing Monsters (The Propaganda Model after 30 Years)|url=https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/nordlit/issue/view/405/50|journal=Nordlit|date=2019|editor-last=Beyer|editor-first=Christian|editor2-last=Bockwoldt|editor2-first=Juliane|editor3-last=Hammar|editor3-first=Emil|editor4-last=Pötzsch|editor4-first=Holger|issue=42|pages=1–420|doi=10.7557/13.5001|isbn=978-82-8244-224-4|issn=0809-1668|eissn=1503-2086|access-date=2020-12-02|doi-access=free}}

{{Noam Chomsky}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy Of The Mass Media}}
[[Category:1988 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Books about media bias]]
[[Category:Books about propaganda]]
[[Category:Books about public opinion]]
[[Category:Books about politics of the United States]]
[[Category:Non-fiction books adapted into films]]
[[Category:Books by Edward S. Herman]]
[[Category:Books by Noam Chomsky]]
[[Category:English-language books]]
[[Category:Collaborative non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Pantheon Books books]]
[[Category:Works about the information economy]]

Manufacturing Consent - Revision history

BellaCH at 15:58, 23 February 2022