THE PROPAGANDA MODEL AND ITS INDIAN RELVANCE Based on Manufacturing Consent, by Edward S. Herman and Noam ChomskyMASC 514 INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION 21 AUG 2015Presented by S Arulselvan

Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky describe the media as businesses which sell a product (readers) to other businesses (advertisers). In their propaganda model of the media they point to five filters which determine what we read in the newspapers and see on the television. These filters produce a very narrow view of the world that is in line with government policy and business interests.

In a democracy, a properly functioning news media is of paramount importance. What functions should the news media have in a democracy? Report events objectively as they occur, to allow citizens to make informed political choices Control governmental abuses of power, through investigative journalism

According to Herman and Chomsky, the US media fail in these respects. In fact, they consider the US media a propaganda system. They compare the system to the propaganda systems of totalitarian states and observe that,It is much more difficult to see a propaganda system at work where the media are private and formal censorship is absent. This is especially true when the media actively compete, periodically attack and expose corporate and governmental malfeasance*, and aggressively portray themselves as spokesmen for free speech and the general community interest.

*Malfeasance is the willful and intentional action that injures a party

They continue by claiming that,What is not evident (and remains undiscussed in the media) is the limited nature of such critiques.

They explain the failure of the US news media with their propaganda model, which traces the routes by which money and power are able to filter out the news fit to print, marginalize dissent, and allow the government and dominant private interests to get their message across to the public.

a. Purpose of the Media i. The mass media serve as a system for communicating messages and symbols to the general populace (1). ii. It is their function to amuse, entertain, and inform, and to inculcate individuals with the values, beliefs, and codes of behavior that will integrate them into the institution structures of the large society (1). iii. Fulfilling this role in a world of concentrated wealth and conflict of interest requires propaganda.

b. Essential Ingredients for the Propaganda Model (or News Filters) i. The size, concentrated ownership, owner wealth, and profit orientation ii. Advertising as the primary income source iii. Reliance upon information provided by government, business, and experts by primary sources and agents of power. iv. Flak as a means of disciplining the media v. Anticommunism as a national religion and control mechanism

The model suggests the existence of a set of news filters, which dilute the raw news content into a content that suits the dominant corporate and governmental interests.Financial ownershipFunding through advertisingReliance on PRFlakAnti-communism

FILTER 1: Corporate ownership The American media is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small number of private companies, owned by wealthy individuals. The pressures of stockholders, directors and bankers are also powerful forces affecting the content of these companies' media content. Thus "market-profit-oriented forces" (p.14) compete with news value.

FILTER 1: Corporate ownershipi. Media entities in 1986 a. 1,500 daily newspapers b. 11,000 magazines c. 9,000 radio and 1,500 TV stations d. 2,400 book publishers e. 7 media studios ii. Monopoly a. 29 of the largest media systems account for over half of the output of newspapers, and most of the sales and audiences in magazines, broadcasting, books, and movies (4). iii. Top Tier Defines Agenda a. The media is tiered and are measured by prestige, resources, and outreach. b. Top tier comprises between 10 24 systems. c. It is the top tier, along with government and wires services, that defines the news agenda and supplies much of the national and international news to the lower tiers of the media, and thus for the general public (5).

FILTER 1: Corporate ownershipiv. Financial Data for 24 Large Media Corporations a. See chart 1-1 on page 6 7 b. All but one have assets worth over $1 billion c. The medium size is $2.6 billion d. have after tax profits of over $100 million v. Consolidation a. Profitability in a deregulated market has led to an increase in takeovers and takeover threats. vi. Control of Stock a. See table 1-2 on page 9 10. b. Approximately 2/3 of the stocks are closely held or held by the members of the originating family. c. These controlling groups have a stake in upholding the status quo by virtue of their wealth and strategic position (8).

FILTER 1: Corporate ownershipvii. Prime Objective, Diversification a. The prime objective, with the help of the pressure from investors, is profitability. b. Many companies have ventured into other media outlets that have growth potential. viii. Dependence and Reliance on Government a. The radio-TV companies and networks all require government licenses and franchises and are thus potentially subject to government control and harassment (13). b. The media depends on the government for general support. c. All businesses are interested in (13): 1. Business taxes 2. Interest rates 3. Labor policies 4. Enforcement and nonenforcement of antitrust laws

FILTER 2: Financial reliance on advertising Advertisers essentially buy and pay for the programs on TV, they are the "patrons". They tend to choose culturally and politically conservative programs. Advertisers will want, more generally, to avoid programs with serious complexities and disturbing controversies that interfere with the "buying mood.

FILTER 2: Financial reliance on advertisingGE and Westinghouse depend on the government to subsidize their nuclear power and military research and development, and to create a favorable climate for their overseas sales (13).

FILTER 2: Financial reliance on advertisingThe Advertising License to do Businessi. Revenues from Advertising a. Without the support of advertising, newspapers would cease to be economically viable. b. Before advertising become prominent, the price of a newspaper had to cover the costs of doing business (14). c. With the growth of advertising, papers that attracted ads could afford a copy price well below production costs (14). d. Subsidy from advertising gives ad-based media a price-marketing-quality edge over non ad-based media. e. Attracting the affluent audience 1. [T]he mass media are interested in attracting audiences with buying power, not audiences per se (16). ii. Political Discrimination a. Working-class and radical mediasuffer from discrimination of advertisers (16).

FILTER 2: Financial reliance on advertisingiii. Selective Programming a. Advertisers selectively choose among programs that are in line with their own principles. b. With rare exceptions these are culturally and politically conservative (17). c. Deny sponsorship of critical programming i. Large corporate advertisers on television will rarely sponsor programs that engage in serious criticisms of corporate activities, such as the problem of environmental degradation, the workings of the military-industrial complex, or corporate support of and benefits from Third World tyrannies (17).

FILTER 3: Reliance on PR for information The media have daily news needs, and thus need a steady, reliable source of news material. Maintaining news reporters at all locations where news may break is not financially viable. As a result, news organizations become reliant on government PR.

FILTER 3: Reliance on PR for informationSourcing Mass-Media News i. Reliable Sources of Information a. The media needs reliable and economically viable sources of information. b. Sources include: 1. The White House 2. Pentagon 3. State Department 4. Business corporations 5. Trade groups c. Produce large volume of material i. These bureaucracies turn out a large volume of material that meets the demands of news organizations for reliable, scheduled flows (19). d. Merit i. These sources also have the great merit of being recognizable and credible by their status and prestige (19).

FILTER 3: Reliance on PR for informationU.S. Air Force public information outreach during 1979 1980: see page 20 140 newspapers, 690,000 copies per week Airman magazine, monthly circulation 125,000 34 radio and 17 TV stations, primarily overseas 45,000 headquarters and unit news releases 615,000 hometown news releases 6,600 interviews with news media 3,200 news conferences 500 news media orientation flights 50 meetings with editorial boards 11,000 speeches f. Only the corporate sector has the resources to produce public information and propaganda on the scale of the Pentagon and other government bodies (21). g. Large bureaucracies subsidize the media 1. Tax dollars -- Bureaucracies -- Media Subsidy 2. In the case of the Pentagon and the State Departments Office of Public Diplomacy the citizenry pays to be propagandized in the interest of powerful groups such as the military contractors and other sponsors of state terrorism (23).

FILTER 3: Reliance on PR for informationii. Influence and Coercion from Sources a. The media will feel that need to mute criticisms of their sources. b. Sources can use their power and prestige as a lever to deny critics access.

FILTER 4: Flak as a means of discipline Negative responses to media content: phone calls, letters, petitions, law suits, speeches, bills before Congress From individuals or groups, politicians, government, business When produced by individuals or groups with large resources, it can be "both uncomfortable and costly" (p. 26) Advertisers are particularly concerned about flak: link with filter 2

FILTER 4: Flak as a means of disciplineFlack and the Enforcers i. Flack a. Flak: negative responses to a media statement or program(26). b. If it is produced on a large scale, it can be both uncomfortable and costly to the media (27). c. Organizations producing flack (27 28): American Legal Foundation Capital Legal Foundation Media Institute Center for Media and Public Affairs Accuracy in the Media d. Even though these organizations steadily attack the media, the media treat them well (28). e. Government as a major producer of flack 1. The government is a major producer of flack, regularly assailing, threatening and correcting the media, trying to contain any deviations from the established line (28).

FILTER 4: Flak as a means of disciplineAnticommunism as a Control Mechanism i. Communism as the Ultimate Evil a. Communism as the ultimate evil has always been the specter haunting property owners, as it threatens the very root of their class position and superior status (29). b. This ideology helps mobilize the populace against an enemy, and because the concept is fuzzy it can be used against anybody advocating policies that threaten property interests or support with Communist states and radicalism (29). c. Support of fascism is justified as a lesser evil. ii. The New Ideology a. Democracy and the free market

FILTER 5: Anticommunism Ideology against a common enemy helps "mobilize the populace" (p. 29) "Fuzzy" (p. 29) concept that can be used against anyone threatening the interests of the financial elite Downfall of Communism left a gap (the common enemy) that has now been replaced

EXAMPLES Chomsky and Herman give multiple examples of how news media content is in accordance with their model's predictions. For example:

The almost totally unreported US chemical warfare in Indochina during the 1960s (p. xxx) Reporting of genocide by enemy states, but not by the United States or U.S. client states. (p. xix)

EXAMPLESAnticommunism as a Control Mechanism i. Communism as the Ultimate Evil a. Communism as the ultimate evil has always been the specter haunting property owners, as it threatens the very root of their class position and superior status (29). b. This ideology helps mobilize the populace against an enemy, and because the concept is fuzzy it can be used against anybody advocating policies that threaten property interests or support with Communist states and radicalism (29). c. Support of fascism is justified as a lesser evil. ii. The New Ideology a. Democracy and the free market

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHOMSKY WATCH A VIDEO OF CHOMSKY :http://www.youtube.com/embed/GjENnyQupow?rel=0&autoplay=1

APPLICATINO OF PROPAGANDA MODEL DISCUSS KODAIKANAL WONT

INDIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP TIMES OF INDIA

INDIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP DYNIK BASHKAR GROUP

INDIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP DECCAN CHRONICLE

INDIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP HINDUSTAN TIMES

INDIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP INFORMATION 1 PRIVATE LIMITED

INDIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP JAGRAN

INDIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP NDTV

INDIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP NETWORK 18

INDIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP NEWS LAUNDRY

INDIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP SUN GROUP

INDIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP ZEE NEWS

THANK YOU

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