Manufacturing Consent : The Political Economy of the Mass Media (Paperback)

Manufacturing Consent is geared towards enlightening the readers on the practices in news media. The authors explain that editorial distortion is worsened due to the reliance of news media on governmental sources of news. They also tell the readers that a magazine or any form of media may be prevented from gaining information, if they publish any information that attracts negative reactions from the government.

This results in the news media organization losing their grip over their viewers or readers, which in turn decreases their advertisers. Keeping these dire consequences in mind, the editorial boards of news media businesses twist their reports to favor the government, with the sole objective of sustaining themselves in the market. Through the course of this book, the readers are provided with insights into five editorially distorting filers that are utilized in news reporting these days.

They also tell the readers that major media outlets make most of their revenue from advertising. Hence, they need to function according to the political biases of their advertisers. The readers are also enlightened on the subject of flak and the damage it can trigger to the media outlets’ reputation, legal defense expenses, and decrease in advertising revenue. The authors have also touched on the topic of anti-communism, which Chomsky believes, is now replaced by the “War on Terror”, as the primary mechanism for social control.

Manufacturing Consent has also been adapted into a documentary film by the same name, directed by Peter Wintonick and Mark Achbar.

About The Authors
Edward S. Herman is an author, media analyst, and economist.
Herman has also written The Myth of The Liberal Media: An Edward Herman Reader, Principles and Practices of Money and Banking, and Counter-Revolutionary Violence - Bloodbaths in Fact