Manufacturing Consent: How the News Media Distorts Reality // Noam Chomsky & Michael Parenti Summary

in the future granted we overcome climate catastrophe I think future human societies are gonna look back at us and mock us relentlessly for ever thinking we had an independent and objective news media oh hey look at me I'm some dork from the early 21st century and isn't it supercool our news media is privately owned and controlled that's just that's just legal and these business owners can print whatever they want whenever they want hire and fire whoever and it's totally okay isn't it supercool they get to privately dominate the whole process of news production very objective and independent Oh Oh what's this weapons of mass destruction now that's an invasion I consent to [Music] there is a widespread conception that our news media is objective that in general our news media can be trusted to present reality truthfully this is a delusion upon careful examination of the news media's character history and record it becomes painfully clear that our news media presents a deeply biased and distorted view of reality and it's within this presented frame of reality that discussion debates and decisions are to be had and made anything which falls outside of this frame is to be denounced as out of touch with reality to be slandered as unrealistic as biased and unobjective certainly debate and disagreement can be intense within this frame but this intensity and heat should not be naively mistaken for a free and objective press and as this video will come to show it's ultimately because our news media is privately owned and operated under capitalism which is responsible for this distortion and narrowing of reality towards this capitalist frame before delving too deeply into all of this I want to stress just how important of a role the news media plays within society for the vast majority especially those who don't follow politics so closely it's the news media which informs our conceptions of reality beyond our immediate experiences and beyond our social networks right so you know most people just don't have the luxury of time and hoards of wealth needed to travel around and draw their own independent understanding of reality they are dependent on the news media so this role that the news media plays in depicting reality beyond our social horizon comes with a countless number of unavoidable editorial choices what events are and are not newsworthy which sources are to be trusted and which sources are to be dismissed what facts are to be presented and what facts are to be omitted how said facts are to be presented and in what lights and even how often a factor topic is repeated covered all these editorial choices over how the larger world is depicted contributes to the framing of reality now these presented conceptions about the wider world their real consequences on the decisions people might make in their personal lives oh well I've been informed that so in so country is a threat to world peace or has an authoritarian regime and thus this coup or poor war is justified and so I'm not gonna protest it and these conceptions don't just influence the decisions people might make they also influence how people might interpret their own immediate experiences I've just lost my job it's not because of my boss it's it's my own fault the economy is changing and I I didn't learn to code or I lost my job because the immigrants took it or because China is evil so I hope it's clear just how important of a role the news media plays within society the power over how reality is presented before examining how the news media distorts reality towards the capitalist frame it's important we come to understand what is meant by this capitalist frame of reality now our news media does not exist within a vacuum our news media exists firmly within a capitalist economy and as such we need to come to understand capitalism and I promise you this is gonna be quick under capitalism the stuff that produces stuff factories land equipments natural resources etc are privately owned and operated in pursuit of private profits all other considerations are subordinate to this pursuit of private profit not out of any kind of callousness or ill-will but out of economic necessity to prioritize the environment over profit or the needs of society or any code of morality over profit is to jeopardize the economic viability of your business risk defaulting on accumulated debts and to face being out competed by those more ruthlessly persistent and unyielding in their drive towards profit this is the context in which our news me exists an economy whose vast resources are privately dominated and mobilized in the sole pursuit of private profit and a news media which itself is a business privately owned and operated for profit now for the schlubs who don't own the means of production the the overwhelming majority of society in order to survive they must labor on the capitalists productive property in exchange for a wage producing goods and services for the capitalists to be sold the surplus value generated by the worker in the course of production is the origin of profit for the capitalist the worker seeks to keep as much of the value they have generated as possible in seeking higher wages cutting into the capitalists profit ideally for the worker this relationship of exploitation would be abolished altogether the capitalist seeks to take as much of the value generated as possible in seeking to lower wages maximizing their profit ideally for the capitalist this relationship of exploitation would be maintained in perpetuity these are diametrically opposed material interests in which there is no resolution under the capitalist mode of production for the worker to keep more of the value the capitalist must lose for the capitalists to take more of the value the worker must lose so what might be viewed as a positive development from the standpoint of a worker will genuinely be viewed as a negative development from the standpoint of a capitalist let's turn to a simple example to illustrate this point a strike has occurred and the workers have managed to gain concessions from their employers namely a raise in pay if you ask the worker and the capitalist what happened you're gonna get two very different stories one will tell you the workers rightfully stood up and demanded a living pay and the other will tell you that the workers in pursuing their greed have hurt the economy these different conceptions about what happened are drawn not because one is dumber than the other and just can't see reality properly rather it is their material interests which shaped their perceptions now going back to those unavoidable editorial choices that must be made when presenting reality the worker and capitalists are going to make very different choices reflecting what each is more concerned about if asked to describe the health of an economy the worker might focus on the affordability of necessities their wages housing quality etc whereas the capitalist would make a different editorial decision instead focusing on interest rates stock market growth GDP and so on in describing an economy with skyrocketing market growth but increasingly more expensive necessities and stagnant wages you're gonna get two very different answers reflecting a capitalist frame of reality and day workers frame of reality now under capitalism it's not the workers who own the means of mass communication it's not the workers who get to shape the dominant perceptions about reality our means of mass communication under capitalism are privately owned and are going to present a dominant capitalist understanding of reality different news media outlets may report a given story differently but these variations in how capital's media report stories merely reflect the particular material interests of the owners president whatever has announced they've placed tariffs on X country's steel products if you're a news media capitalist with investments and interests tied up in the domestic steel industry this story is going to be reported very positively by your news outlet with whatever justifications for this positive reporting that can be found if you're our news media capitalist with interests for whatever reason tied up in industries that rely on cheap steel your news media outlet will report these stories very negatively with whatever justifications and rationalizations that can be found but despite these disagreements both these owners share a common interest as capitalists and their outlets will remain firmly within a capitalist frame of reality now that we have a sense of what is meant by a capitalist frame of reality it's time we turn our attention to how such a frame is formed if we want to understand how the Capitol's frame is formed we need to recognize that the news media is tiered with lower tiers reiterating the stories and breaks of the week covered by the top tiers of news yeah top-tier news outlets within the United States such as the New York Times in the Washington Post have an incredible power to set the national and even international tone and agenda these top-tier news outlets overwhelmingly and disproportionately dictate the perceptions about the wider world that get disseminated and the dynamics we will be discussing which form a capitalist frame of reality become increasingly more pronounced and inexorable with higher and higher tiers of media so yes there will be news outlets who managed to present reality outside this capitalist frame but these smaller news outlets are not the ones shaping people's conceptions about the wider world they are not the ones setting the popular and dominant frame of reality they are among its victims slandered as biased unrealistic and not credible all right we're gonna start off with the most blunt and overt powers which narrows news coverage towards a capitalist frame by virtue of private ownership over the means of mass communication news media owners are completely free to hire and fire whoever they want on whatever basis and are free to promote and demote whoever they want on whatever basis under capitalism this is their legal rights and there's nothing you can do about it besides maybe a workers revolution [Music] in stopping their news media ventures a capitalist with all their biases and their acute focus on maximizing profit is for example not going to hire a journalist who freely criticizes the capitalist mode of production who traces societal ailments back to capitalism putting aside the fact that said journalism would offend the personal biases of the capitalist such a journalist would jeopardize profit margins by discouraging advertisers and attracting the wrong kind of audience namely a significantly less profitable audience instead the kind of journalists we see hired are those who do not offend the material interests of the capitalist whether because these journalists have learned to bite their tongue if they want a job or because they are genuine in their support of the capitalists material interests now under the employment of the owner the journalist is granted what's been termed conditional autonomy the journalist is free to report however they like free from any kind of crass censorship by the owners and editors so long as they're reporting remains within an approved frame so long as their reporting does not offend the material interests of the owners due to the hiring process many journalists are more than happy to reside within this frame and might never feel the terms of condition for their autonomy these are the journalists who will tell you the price is free and sincerely believe it and in a sense they be right those members of the press who do not violate their conditions of autonomy genuinely experience a sense of autonomy without moving they never feel their chains now for those pesky journalists who do end up violating their conditions of autonomy by stepping outside an approved frame the owners legal powers of firing promoting and demoting can be used to enforce said conditions John the journalist has a very prestigious position of covering the happenings of the financial world and in a recent series of news pieces he's written he's begun covering financial abuses not as isolated incidents whose fault lies squarely at the feet of bad individuals but as emblematic of a deeper and systemic fault with our financial system now for whatever reason the outlets owner has material interests wrapped up in the financial sector whether because they themselves have investments in the sector or their advertisers are somehow involved in the financial sector it doesn't really matter all that matters is that John's systematic critique of the financial sector falls outside the owners approved frame and thus John has violated a condition of his autonomy John will very quickly find himself moved to covering lesser stories and beats and just as quickly John will learn that if he wants to keep prestigious positions build his career portfolio and keep earning a decent living he needs to be wary of what buttons not to press in the same vein those more dogged in their respect for the material interests of the owners will find themselves promoted to higher and higher posts within the company now say John insists on reporting outside the approved frame consistently violating the terms of his autonomy believing it is his duty as a journalist to speak truth to power to tell it like it is to be a voice for the voiceless John's gonna be fired simple as that an act fully within the legal right of the owners now the powers of hiring firing promoting and demoting all come together and contribute to a much more subtle and effective dynamic which keeps journalists and their news coverage within a capitalist frame what's been termed self-censorship through the course of their career journalists come to recognize what is expected from them and what is discouraged these lessons can be picked up from the heavy hand of demotions and promotions but also from the subtle cues of casual conversation and discussion with editors and owners what topics to focus on what particular portions of a story does the editor or owner view as important how these owners might view the topics themselves etc the journalist with these lessons is going to act accordingly in their news coverage and thus contain themselves within an approved frame the journalist will self censor their work to meet the expectations of the editors and owners it doesn't matter whether they genuinely believe their instances of self-censorship is actually them just being realistic and on bias or whether they consciously recognize that if they want to keep their job and move up the ladder they've got to bite their tongue from time to time the end result is the same a journalist who keeps themselves within an approved frame beyond the immediate imposition of the Capitals frame from owners above capitalist society itself exerts a pressure on the news media to present reality within a particular frame for one we have to understand the class background of many journalists themselves journalists are drawn from much more privileged sex of the working class in petty bourgeoisie for variety of factors the hiring process itself privileged educational opportunities the cushy wealth needed to take unpaid internships and so on and for a variety of factors these journalists on the whole if not outright Lee pro-capitalist in their world outlook are no more than reformist seeking a kinder capitalism in addition to the privileged class backgrounds of many journalists it's the wealthy business owners who ultimately dictate which journalists will succeed in the industry as a whole which journalists find prestige and recognition through the various luxurious awards and ceremonies that are funded and awarded those journalists most aggressively sycophantic towards the interests of capital find themselves propelled to the heights of tiered media we also need to examine the journalists education process staffed by seasoned journalists academics guests seminars by prestigious journalists in so on all instill a demand for objectivity and unbiased reporting and journalists but when you examine what is considered objective and unobjective it becomes clear that it is capitalist assumptions which are taught to be objective challenges to these cold facts are unobjective and you're gonna make a poor journalist everyone knows socialism doesn't work that's just common sense you link homelessness to the commodification of housing can we tone this down just a little bit oh you call scary brown person from the global South throwing our nation's imperialist ambitions a dictator and not a president this is very objective good job so the common sense and assumptions of Journal are to be set firmly within the capital spring one of the most important points I need to touch on is the relationship between the state and news media under capitalism for those of you who haven't I'd encourage you to watch my video describing the state under capitalism in it I detail how far from being a democracy states under capitalism protect and advance the interests of those with the wealth and capital to afford its representation the state under capitalism becomes a tool of the capitalist class now far from being an antagonistic relationship between journalists and the state journalists are forced to keep friendly ties and relationships with state department actors and government officials if they want to keep their access to scoops and sources hence in their reporting journalists experience a real pressure to avoid heavy criticisms of their sources often these journalists might just verbatim report the statements of police departments intelligence officials and government officials without challenging any of their assumptions these kinds of journalists effectively become mouthpieces for the Capitol states and government officials are aware of this and know how to play the media this is how states manufacture consent for their wars to feed alarming and villainizing reports about a foreign government or leader even if these reports are themselves unsubstantiated it doesn't matter the media can be counted on to regurgitate these justifications for military aggression to the public setting the frame of reality within which discussion and debate about war and aggression are to be had quick side note this is one of the many ways straight up fabrications about reality are picked up and broadcasted by the news media it's not that the news media sets out to lie to the public but that the bar for proof is very low when it comes to statements from the government and any story which seems to confirm a capitalist bias while at the same time the bar for proof when it comes to stories which seem to challenge a capitalist bias is extremely high so the media will often propagate stories which end up being falsehoods and slander stories which end up being true but the damage has already been done and those fabrications about reality remain as fact in the minds of the majority in discussing these dynamics we can come to see that despite not being privately owned and run for-profit nonprofit news outlets and state media under capitalism will still propagate a capitalist frame these outlets are hiring the same privileged journalists from the same schools of journalism with the same concepts about what is and isn't objective reporting and reliant on the state for scoops and sources alright so we understand what is meant by the capitalist frame of reality and we understand how private ownership over the means of mass communication and operation under capitalism distorts reality towards this frame so when you read the news you need to keep in mind that what you're reading or capitalist understandings of reality especially when it comes to topics which touch heavily on the class conflict the narratives you are presented with will villainize and demean those actors events and movements which thwart or hinder the interests of capital with equal vigor media narratives will glorify apologize and justify those actors events and movements which advance or maintain the interests of capital these conceptions about reality which are propagated by the news media not only bear consequences for us here and now but go on to form the narratives of history we tell tomorrow so even the histories we have been told are burdened by these capitalist biases distortions and outright fabrications now if you yourself own productive property and employ others the media as it stands now serves you nicely and there's no need for anything to be done the news genuinely reflects your world outlook and interests and so to do the histories we construct but if you're one of the schlubs who has to work for a living you need to ask yourself do you want a media that rambles on about soaring stock markets while ignoring the material needs of everyday folk a media which follows this or that tech billionaire who's gonna swoop in and save us from climate catastrophe a media who on command eagerly beats the drums of war or do you want a media which earnestly reports on things that matter to us a media which gives room to debate on the questions that matter to us a media who's operating objective is not profit but service to the people the means of mass communication must be freed from the private domination of individuals propagate their own narratives and narrow interests the means of mass communication must come under the Democratic control of the working people and thus operated in service to the people this of course would be part of a much larger upheaval in which the economy itself is seized from the private domination and control of petty tyrants and put under the Democratic control of the working people establishing an economy run by the people in service to the people let's turn to a quick example a lot has opened up in these cities downtown under a capitalist economy the Lots owner sells or rents the property to the highest bidder and that bidding capitalist builds whatever they calculate will return to them the most profit may be another bank or something the capitalist media will report on said building and that'll be the extent of it maybe a mumble or two about job creation and how grateful we should all be under a democratically run society a socialist society debate about what is to be built in this empty lot is open to the public a debate which is publicized through the means of mass communication so that all can follow the ongoing discussion and participate what does the community need most in that lot what can be done to raise the quality of life another high school another hospital maybe a new recreational facility the cases can be made by the public through the media after a given period of public debate the votes can be taken and thus the public will has been expressed and will be executed the media which is in service to the people will continue to keep the public informed on how the projects are running the results and the lessons that can be drawn to inform our future decisions of course this is just an example of how the media could be used under a democratic society there's a lot that still needs to be done and many obstacles which must be overcome before we can achieve this in summary capitalist media is a [ __ ] long live the workers revolution these are the socialist legends who have chosen to support me on patreon and you too can join the club for as little as $1 a month for as little as $1 a month for as little as $1 a month help support socialist content on YouTube also make sure to follow me on Twitter and of course subscribe for more leftist content

Channel: halim alrah

Views: 50,430

Rating: 4.9442573 out of 5

Keywords: manufacturing consent, noam chomsky, mainstream media, fake news, michael parenti, inventing reality, chomsky, parenti, mainstream media bernie, propaganda, media lying, mainstream media sanders, news media bias, mainstream media fails, biased media, biased news, bernie sanders, democratic socialism, noam chomsky manufacturing consent, manufacturing consent noam chomsky

Id: unKNNiYQFp4

Length: 24min 55sec (1495 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 28 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Bonedeath]

I figure most people here have read Manufacturing Consent by Herman/Chomsky but if you haven't you should. There's a revised version 20 years after it's original release, should be a staple in anyone's library.