There has been debate about how the Internet has changed the public’s access to information since 1988. The theory of manufacturing consent has five general classes of “filters” that determine the type of news that is presented in news media. It the art of manipulating people without them being aware of it.

Consent for economic, social, and political policies, both foreign and domestic, is “manufactured” in the public mind due to this propaganda.

The theory consists of five general classes of “filters” that determine the type of news that is presented in news media. These five classes are: ownership of the medium, the medium’s funding sources, sourcing, flak, and anti-communism or “fear ideology”.

Flak: ‘negative responses to a media statement or [TV or radio] program.

Anti-communism is a political movement and ideology opposed to communism.

Habermas

Habermas argues that the development of early modern capitalism brought into being an autonomous arena of public debate.

The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems.

Curran & Seaton

The idea that media should have the right to be exercised freely.  It is used as a defence for public service broadcasting and the impact that social media has on the audience.

Chomsky

Manufacturing Consent. The political economy of mass media. This book was released in 1988. The authors try to propose that the mass communication media of the US are effective and powerful ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function, by reliance in market forces.

Ownership: mass media firms are big corporations and are often part of even bigger conglomerates, their goal is profit and they will push for whatever guarantees that profit. 

Advertising: exposes the role of advertising. As media costs a lot more then consumers pay, advertisers fill the gap and pay for audiences. 

The Media Elite: the establishment manages the media through the third filter. Elite news companies have the resources to ease the news-gathering process. 

Flak: flak refers to the negative commentary to a new story or journalist. Flak includes lawsuits, complaints, petitions, and government sanctions. 

Anti-Communism and Fear: this filter still operates; it mobilises the population against a common enemy (terrorism etc) while demonising opponents.  

Jurgen Habermas (public sphere)- the public sphere is a place for us people to meet and discuss what we have in common, it’s a place for people with the same interests to discuss things they’re interested in.

James curran and Jean Seaton (theory of liberal free press)– the theory that the press should be free and not heavily dominated by large company money crazy conglomerates. We should be watchdogs filtering out info and deciding for ourselves what we believe in and not just believing in anything we see. Some companies are independent and post what they like however a lot are controlled by large conglomerates making them take a bias view in order to cultivate their audiences.

Noam Chompsky (5 filters that manufacture consent)- manufacturing consent is the act of getting us, the audience to agree with the dominant ideology spread by the media/whoever is trying to get their message across. 1- is ownership and how all the big conglomerates own everything, 2- how things are advertised i.e we will be cultivated into agreeing if we see it enough, 3 – the media elite, these are the people who choose what is shared and posted making us believe what they want, 4- flak this happens to anyone trying to go against this system and they will be labelled with flak making them seem less credible and lastly 5 – is the common enemy to make you believe you have the same goal and through this enemy they can make you think you’re doing the right thing. I.e 9/11 made Muslims the common enemy so they were discriminated.

Louis Althusser ( interpellation and ISA)– Ideological state apparatus are the social things around us i.e the media, school, family, friends ans state and they shape us into what we are today and conform us using their values. They interpellate us into what they expect us to be using the ISA.

Antonio Gramsci (hegemony/ hegemonic struggle) – the power those in charge over us have and how they can cultivate their audiences into believing/doing things, i.e a famous artist could sing about racial inequality to raise attention and due to their hegemony their audiences could follow. The hegemonic struggle is the act of us people defying and not following what the media and people in charge say and us being watchdogs and filtering our info.

Noam Chomsky, the 5 filters that manufacture consent

Noam Chomsky is an American linguist who primarily focused on the 3 filters that manufacture consent. These 5 factors include size/ownership/ profit orientation, the advertising license to do business, sourcing mass media news, flak and the enforcers and anti-communism/war on terror. These are important factors as they all allow people to stay on track and no go against what is considered ethical and okay relating to the propaganda model of communication. Manufacturing consent is important as it allows for the rules to be followed and at the time propaganda was an issue within society. ‘The link between ownership of news organisations and news coverage is not easy to determine’ , this could be because not all organisations actually follow the 5 filtors that manufacture consent.

Antonio Gramsci, the concept of hegemony / hegemonic struggle

Hegemony was a term that was previously used by Russian Marxists in order to denote the political leadership of the working-class in a democratic revolution and means leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others. A class cannot be formed/maintained solely through economic interests and advancements can’t be made with only this as other factors need to be included and not just economic interests as there is more to a class than just one thing; thee are various aspects needed in order to create and keep a class. Gramsci’s theory emphasised the importance of the political and ideological superstructure in both maintaining and fracturing relations of the economic base. Hegemony is important within society as it allows for some people to be ‘in charge’ and have the ability to be higher up than everyone else which would cause them to become a leader in a sense as people may look up to these people but a hegemony can’t be created if there aren’t other hierarchy’s or people involved.

Noam Chomsky – The 5 filters that manufacture consent

Chomsky talks about 5 filters which include: Ownership, Advertising, The media elite, Flak and the Common enemy. Chomsky talks about ownership and how mass media forms are large corporations or even conglomerates. He says how every business has the same goal which is money/profit. He says that every company puts profit as their first priority over everything else.

He shows us how advertising actually is and how the advertisers aren’t so much as selling the audience their product, but instead are selling US as the product.

This tells us how they media control what we see as they can influence news, feed then scoops of information. So, those in power and those who report on them are in bed with each other.

Flak shows us how they block any news that will either discredit them in a negative way so they control it and trash stories they don’t like.

This filter suggests that you need a common enemy as a way to have more intriguing news. This is because news with a more dramatic feel gets more attention, for example, terrorism.

Antonio Gramsci – Hegemony

Hegemony is seen as the domination of a diverse society by the ruling class. This means that the society is run by a higher power which is made to implement set order in a society. This means that the beliefs and perceptions in the society will be formed by the ruling class.

1. Jurgen Habermas (the public sphere)
   • The public comes to interact with itself in a public discussion about ideas and concepts
   • this place is called the public sphere
   • the public sphere can be used to spread awareness of movements or spread ideology
2. James Curran and Jean Seaton
   • Two theorists who co-wrote a book called “Power Without Responsibility”
   • the liberal theory of press freedom:
   • The broad shape and nature of the press is ultimately determined by no one but its readers
   • self regulation
3. Noam Chomsky
   • created the book “Manufacturing Consent”
   • Created the theory that there are “5 filters that manufacture consent” (the propaganda model)
   • filter 1: ownership – media companies should own all steps of publication to create a bias (conglomerates)
   • filter 2: advertising – funding generated through advertising (the buyers of the newspaper are the ‘product’ sold to advertisers)
   • filter 3: sourcing – mass media will draw information from sources that consider its interests as economic first
   • filter 4: flak – mass media will attack radical ideas – creating stories that see the subject of the article in a negative light or just fake news.
   • filter 5: anti-communism and fear

Fuchs

• 3 types of media
• capitalist media: corporate ownership (a)
• Public servic media: state related institutions (b)
• Civil society media: citizen control (c)

• media is based on a. information commodities, b. information commons and c. information as public good
• capitalism is expansive, imperialist and colonising (consumption over culture)

Althusser:

“All ideology hails or interpellates concrete individuals as concrete subjects, through the functioning of the category of the subject.” – 1971

Althusser said that society is structured to keep you in your place & coined the phrase ‘socially constructed’. The ruling ideology (the ideas of the ruling class) constructs us. He says we cant escape, we are interpellated in this system which relates to Orientalism since the ‘other’ do not have the power to represent themselves.

Noam Chomsky:

“A political economy perspective has sometimes tended towards ‘conspiracy theory’”

Chomsky came up with the idea of manufacturing consent which states the mass media has the power to use propaganda to persuade the public. He would say all news is fake. This relates to the idea of media setting an agenda. Agenda setting is the creation of the public awareness & concerns the big issues by the news media which links to conditions of consumption which means the media actually decides how the mass audiences interpret it.

Habermas:

He came up with the idea of the media as ‘watchdog’, meaning that the media acts in the public sphere in the public interest. He believed democracy depended on the public and came up with the theory of the public sphere which is an area in social life where people can come together to freely discuss and identify problems. This could possibly influence political action.

James Curran & Seaton:

“The best way to organise the core media sector is to entrust them to public service organizations.”

“public service broadcasting organizations tend to be unduly influenced by the political class.”

James Curran wrote ‘Mass Media and Democracy’ which focuses on Habermas and his idea of the public sphere. He argued that the developments in education and the mass media made it simpler to access information related to the government, authority & control.

Gramsci:

He wrote about hegemony which means the ruling class can manipulate societies views.

Quotes for the theory of liberal press (James Curren)

1. “The assumption that ‘anyone’ is free to start a new paper has been an illusion ever since the industrialization of the press.”
2. “Can the freedom of the press, be equated with the freedom of conglomerates, owning much of the press, to promote their business interests?”
3. “Since the Commission’s report, most large press groups have refocused their activities on communications, though many still retain some non-media interests.”
4. “Newspapers have poured money into developing news sites, thereby pre-empting the rise of rivals.”
5. “The voices calling for change where thus marginalized.”

Quotes for the role of public servie broadcasting:

1. “The principle of public service… was not the paternalistic and abstract rule which critics have suggested.”
2. “Broadcasters have often failed to perceive the public interest &, even more frequently, have been too acquiescent to political pressure.”
3. “…broadcasters’ institutionalized caution

3 types of media ownership: (media as a commodity)

• capitalist media – wants money
• public service media – informs public
• civil society media – independent

Jurgen Habermas and the concept of the public sphere.

Jurgen habermas describes the public sphere as a place where people come together who have strong opinions about societies problems.

James Curren & Jean Seaton

The theory of the liberal free press, Curren and Seaton write about how the media should be free from political control so the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests in society.

Curran and Seaton

-The idea that the media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power 

-The idea that media concentration generally limits or inhibits variety, creativity and quality 

-The idea that more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media productions 

Noam chomsky

-Mass media is all propaganda

-Filter 1: size and profit orientation Large organisations are often profit orientation rather than serving on the interest of the public.

-Filter 2: The advertising license the majority of a corporation’s revenue is obtained from advertising. Therefore even outlets that stereotypically were not made to advertise choose a bias

-Filter 3: Sourcing mass media news Large media news outlets are widely trusted by the public. However, in order to keep a large audience news stories often have to be manipulated and changed in order to please other powerful members of society

-Filter 4: Flak and the enforcers Flak is the negative response an audience gives to a media source. This can have a devistating effect on a companies profit or representation. Thus loosing them audience members

–Filter 5: Anti-communism/war on terror War on terror is a major social control mechanism

Jurgen Habermas public sphere

-The public sphere is a metaphorical area in which public opinions are formed. This theory suggests that an audience are active consumers and take a particular stance as oppose to a passive

Antonio Gramsci hegemony

-Gramsci talks about the hierarchies that have formed in society and how they effect certain individuals. Those in a position of hegemonic power often control the stereotypes we believe in their favour through the media

Louis Althusser interpellation

Interpellation is the process in which we internalise societies values and make them our own. For example, stereotypes in society that are referenced and referred to as normal which through cultivation we are led to believe are true

Jurgen Habermas and the concept of the Public Sphere

Habermas created the idea of the public sphere that is a virtual community where people are able to spread ideas and opinions to one another which can be done through the use of media. this public sphere can be used to influence other people. He also explained how the public sphere is a direct way companies can communicate to consumers.

James Curran & Jean Seaton – the theory of the liberal free press

James Curran and Jean Seaton discussed Habermas ideas about the public sphere and how they are relevant to media today in terms of education and government. Curran also described that the media is a public watchdog which looks over the state. In Jean Seaton and James Currens book ‘power without responsibility’ they speak about the idea of liberal free press and the the ownership of the media and there influences on the media we consume.

Noam Chomsky – the 5 filters that manufacture consent

Chomsky believed that institutions controlled what their audience believed by:

• Ownership: the leaders want their views and profit which affect the views presented
• The role of advertising: The product for advertising is the audience and therefore can sell their ideas at a price which benefits the advertisers and the media
• The Media Elite: Influencing the media narrative to benefit them
• Flak: To discredit other sources when they do not agree with their own
• The Common Enemy: By uniting the audience against a group to target someone

Louis Althusser – interpellation & Ideological State Apparatus

This is when the state uses sources such as the media, religion and school to convey and control the people in to believing what they want. Interpellation is the process of getting a population to believe that message and a formation of that belief

Antonio Gramsci – the concept of hegemony / hegemonic struggle

A hegemonic idea is a dominant idea that most people believe and therefore the hegemony is a widely held belief that the dominant population hold. The hegemonic struggle is when a radical text challenges this hegemony and therefore is a difference of opinions when powers differ.