Chomsky explains how propaganda and systemic biases function in corporate mass media. The model seeks to explain how populations are manipulated and how consent for economic, social, and political policies, both foreign and domestic, is “manufactured” in the public mind due to this propaganda.

Stereotypically there are two ends of a political spectrum, authoritarianism in countries such as China, and libertarianism in countries such as the US, however Chomsky says that we are being controlled by the mass media (because people in power produce their ideologies and distribute it through mass media) to manufacture the general publics consent- while big conglomerates also own most mass media heavily reducing the public sphere by narrowing the beliefs of other companies and people, as people are being told “facts” from media without comprehending the idea that media will also have a political compass. The I for example might seem more leftist however it is still right winged just less right winged from the daily mail – both are owned by DMGT which the 4th Viscount Rothermere is the chairman for (70% of newspapers are owned by just three companies) and Lord Rothermere was also friends with Adolf Hitler which we can say is a link to the establishment regarding Chomsky’s theory of the 5 mass filters of media. As the public gains knowledge from the media- they are also being programmed through advertisement and media exhibition (Laswell’s passive consumption model- hypodermic model) to view the world through the political compass of the media product. Building on Lasswell consumption model Shannon and Weaver adapted the model and introduced the idea of noise and error disrupting the passive model, active consumption can be enabled by educating yourself about the tactics of the media and start thinking your own thoughts and to keep an eye out on the Chomsky theory of 5 Filters on the mass media machine- and how those filters prevent media from representing all sides of the political compass and how they are mostly right winged authoritarian. Link to Roland Barthes and semiotics presented in the media and how that manipulates public consent.

The 5 filters of the mass media machine:

 1.Structure of ownership

Most media companies are concentration of ownership through vertical and horizontal integration, most media owned by mass media conglomerates.

2.The role of advertising

To produce money to cover the cost of production and distribution of Media through advertisement and sponsors.

You need advertisers to fill the cash gap, we buy media for cheaper than it will ever be produced, and advertisements are being sold to us, but we are being sold to advertisers by mass media and we are the product.

3.Links with the establishment

Media representers or distributers are in debt and work with the people in power, those who go against them are pushed to the margins and not seen as much.

4.Divisionary tactics- ‘flack’

People and other media sources who aren’t helping the people in power are divided away by flack, other sources discredit their views and divert the story onto something else to make the opposing media seem unreliable.

5.Uniting against a ‘common enemy’

Your enemy’s enemy is your friend, uniting against something we don’t like, media exploiting and stereotyping something that is commonly disliked in the area to attract attention and exhibition.UNCATEGORIZED

left- labour

right- conservative

1. Cultural industries – Cultural industry refers to the various businesses that produce, distribute, market or sell products that belong categorically in creative arts. Such products could include clothing, decorative material for homes, books, movies, television programs, or music.
2. Production – Media production means the making of a motion picture, television show, video, commercial, Internet video, or other viewable programming provided to viewers via a movie theater or transmitted through broadcast radio wave, cable, satellite, wireless, or Internet.
3. Distribution – Content distribution is the process of sharing, publishing, and promoting your content. It’s how you provide your content to your audience members for their consumption through various channels and media formats.
4. Exhibition / Consumption – The Audience Consumption & Reception refers to the following; • Previous readings of the text (Trailers, Sequels) • Audience shared experience (how they personally relate to the text, narrative or character based on their own personal experiences) • Audience expectations and possibilities.
5. Media concentration
6. Conglomerates – A media conglomerate or multimedia group is the one made up of companies among which stand out different media specialized in written content (newspapers, magazines and editorials) and audiovisual content (television, radio, films / series in streaming).
7. Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) – Globalization has a great influence on the media and further its impact on us. The most visible effect of globalization is wide spread communication. The introduction of newspapers, magazine, internet and TV has immensely helped to spread information and has helped people to come together from all over the world.
8. Cultural imperialism – Cultural Imperialism- Mass Communication Context. Explanation of Theory: Cultural Imperialism Theory states that Western nations dominate the media around the world which in return has a powerful effect on Third World Cultures by imposing n them Western views and therefore destroying their native cultures.
9. Vertical Integration – Vertical integration indicates that a media company has absolute monopoly in the production of the matter that go into the making of media products. For example a newspaper publisher may own several hundred areas of forests where the major components of a newspaper namely wood for newsprints cultivated.
10. Horizontal Integration – Horizontal integration is a business strategy in which one company acquires or merges with another that operates at the same level in an industry. Horizontal integrations help companies grow in size and revenue, expand into new markets, diversify product offerings, and reduce competition.
11. Mergers – A merger is an agreement that unites two existing companies into one new company. There are several types of mergers and also several reasons why companies complete mergers. Mergers and acquisitions are commonly done to expand a company’s reach, expand into new segments, or gain market share.
12. Monopolies – A monopoly is a dominant position of an industry or a sector by one company, to the point of excluding all other viable competitors. Monopolies are often discouraged in free-market nations. They are seen as leading to price-gouging and deteriorating quality due to the lack of alternative choices for consumers.
13. Gatekeepers – Gatekeepers are people or policies acting as a go-between, controlling access from one point to another. They may refuse, control or delay access to services. Alternatively, they may also be used to oversee how work is being done and whether it meets certain standards.
14. Regulation – Regulation is the act of controlling, or a law, rule or order. An example of a regulation is the control over the sale of tobacco. An example of a regulation is a law that prevents alcohol from being sold in certain places.
15. Deregulation – Specifically, deregulation of the telecommunications industry pertains to relaxing ownership rules regarding such items as the number of stations a single television or radio owner can possess in a market and whether or not a single corporation can own a newspaper, or television and radio station in the same market.
16. Free market – free market, an unregulated system of economic exchange, in which taxes, quality controls, quotas, tariffs, and other forms of centralized economic interventions by government either do not exist or are minimal.
17. Commodification  – The commodification of content is carried out by making information on social media an initial source for news production. Audience commodification by using the followers of social media accounts as a source of income.
18. Convergence  – he act of converging and especially moving toward union or uniformity the convergence of the three rivers especially : coordinated movement of the two eyes so that the image of a single point is formed on corresponding retinal areas. 2 : the state or property of being convergent.
19. Diversity  – Diversity refers to heterogeneity of media content according to one or more criteria Media content provided by a market can be diverse because outlets themselves are internally diverse, or because outlets provide different types of content that, combined, create a diverse supply.
20. Innovation – Media innovation can include change in several aspects of the media landscape – from the development of new media platforms, to new business models, to new ways of producing media texts. There are many ways of conceptualising what kinds of change media in- novation involve.

two step flow communications – PAUL LAZARFELD

What is significant here is that this theory suggests that the audience are ACTIVE NOT PASSIVE, in that audience consumption is based on consideration of what others think not a PASSIVE process of unthinking

 Uses and Gratifications (active selection)

Research into this area began with Denis McQuail and Jay Blumler, who in 1969, looked to study the 1964 UK Election. In the early 1970’s they were joined by Elihu Katz, Joseph Brown, Michael Gurevitch and Hadassah Haas. 

It is suggested that much of this research was informed by Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs (1954), which argues that people actively looked to satisfy their needs based on a hierarchy of social and psychological desires. Maslow’s thinking was centred around Humanistic psychology According the web page ‘Humanist Psychology’ (link here) the basic principle behind humanistic psychology is simple and can be reduced to identify the most significant aspect of human existence, which is to attain personal growth and understanding, as ‘only through constant self-improvement and self-understanding can an individual ever be truly happy‘.

similarities – both businesses have the 3 elements, production distribution and consumption.

differences – more variety in culture industries

the cultural industry is clear that the goods they manufacture play a pivotal role in organising the images through which people make sense of the world – golding and murdock

The concept of “cultural industries” is more related to cultural heritage and traditional forms of creation, while “creative industries” includes the applied arts practices, innovations and generating profit and creation of jobs by creating intellectual property.

The cultural and creative industries refer to those parts of the modern economy where culture is produced and distributed through industrial means, applying the creativity of individuals and groups to the generation of original cultural product, which may have commercial value either through direct sale to consumers 

A cultural industry (sometimes used synonymously with creative industries) is an economic field concerned with producing, reproducing, storing, and distributing cultural goods and services on industrial and commercial terms.

the industries have a massive impact on people and our world.

examples :

capitalist – commercial itv

transnational – netflix, prime distributed among different countries

public service – bbc

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

what is it ? – it is includes all electronic media outlets and its only function is public service. In many countries of the world, funding comes from governments, especially via annual fees charged on receivers (TV licence UK). Television and radio programmes that are broadcast to provide information, advice, or entertainment to the public without trying to make a profit: The channel is trying to reduce its obligations to produce public service broadcasting such as religious programmes. The public service ethos of the BBC to inform, entertain and educate is something that we should fiercely protect and fund properly.

Are the BBC and C4 unique examples of PSB?

The BBC is a public service broadcaster. This means that, in return for payment of a licence fee , the BBC provide viewers with a service of programmes with wide appeal that are guaranteed to conform to its public service remit to ‘inform, educate, and entertain.”

Channel 4 is a publicly-owned and commercially-funded UK Public Service Broadcaster (PSB), with a statutory remit to deliver high-quality, innovative, alternative content that challenges the status quo.

The Idea of Resistance and Political Protest:
● When we first think about political protest, what comes to mind?
○ Attempts to change to laws or legislation
○ Organised political movements
○ Public protests
○ Petitions, marches
● However, we can look at political protest in terms of:
○ Cultural resistance
○ Everyday people
● Why look at cultural resistance?
○ Overt political protest is uncommon. When it occurs, it often results in a backlash.
○ Even if overt political protest does results in changes in legislation, it won’t necessarily change public
opinion.
○ Culture is what influences people’s hearts, minds and opinions. This is the site of popular change.
Key idea: the political, personal and cultural are always intertwined

• The idea of culture as a site of political struggle for Ghost Town see below)
• The the theory of hegemony – Gramsci

cultural hegemony functions by framing ideologies of the dominant social group as the only legitimate
ideology.

Key Concepts:
● Cultural resistance
● Cultural hegemony
● Subcultural theory

Subcultural Theory: The Birmingham School (1970s)
● In the 1970s, a group of cultural theorists in Birmingham applied Gramsici’s theories to post-war
British working-class youth culture
● Looked at working class cultures like the teddy-boys, mods, skinheads, and punks – subcultures
unified by shared tastes in fashion, music and ideology.
● They argued argued that the formation of subcultures offered young working class people a solution
to the problems they were collectively experiencing in society.

lyrics for essay-

1. Slavery’s still alive, check Amendment 13
   Not whips and chains, all subliminal
   Instead of ‘nigga’ they use the word ‘criminal’

2. We staring in the face of hate again
The same hate they say will make America great again

3. Police and policies patrol philosophies of control
A cruel hand taking hold.

4. Black bodies being lost in the American dream

5. Prison is a business, America’s the company

Postcolonialism:

This post is for students (and teachers) who would like some resources – videos, quotes, theorists, key texts, key words etc to help them think about the topic of POSTCOLONIALISM, which may appear in a range of creative, media, culture, communications, English, History and other courses.

Overall, this is a topic that concerns IDENTITY and REPRESENTATION. In other words, where does our identity come from? How is our identity formed? How do we understand our own identity and how is our identity represented in the local, national and global media? You can look at another post that looks at identity, representation and the self. But here it is specifically looking at identity and representation through the lens of Empire and Colonialism.

ORIENTALISM:

The Link between culture, imperial power & colonialism

the power to narrate, or to block other narratives from forming or emerging, is very important to culture and imperialism

Edward Said Culture and Imperialism, 1993: xiii

critically looking at culture- key figure Edward Said.

Jacques Lacan- (the other)

search for identity, theory of baby’s first time looking in the mirror is when we first feel consciousness. we see ourselves differently for how to feel inside.