Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, in their 1988 book Manufacturing Consent, proposed five major filters. Using the five filters can be well understood. It can be divided into three parts media, government or large corporations and the masses, and the three constraints. The media is controlled by the government and large corporations and the masses are in turn influenced by the media.
Human society today is faced with the grim challenge of coping with large-scale manipulation and deception of reality(Ghosh,2022).
This theory can make people understand the truth behind the media. It can also make people think about the truthfulness of the news when they are confronted with it. However, not all media is controlled and propagates false information. There are still many people with a sense of justice and morals. So that is what this theory misses.
Analyzing Watergate through five filters
The Watergate Scandal, which occurred in the early 1970s, involved illegal activities and political scandals in President Nixon’s administration. The media played an important role in exposing this event, which eventually led to President Nixon’s resignation.
- On ownership: During Watergate, most major media outlets in the United States were owned by large corporations. These companies may have close relationships with people in the government or government departments, so they may report cautiously or even hide facts because of this relationship.
- About advertising: Advertising is a form of publicity for the general public, and adverts can give exposure to goods or things. Most of the media rely on advertising fees to make profits, so the media may be afraid that reporting this news will have a negative impact on the advertiser’s reputation, which will cause the advertiser to stop placing adverts.
- About media elites: Some media elites may ignore truthful reporting for personal gain and fear of offending government officials. So the attitude of media people towards news will affect the exposure of the accident.
- On flak: In the Watergate incident, some media and journalists may be criticised from different sources. These criticisms will make the media more cautious about the incident. Although the media prides itself on objective and credible reporting, they are nothing more than puppets of those who are really in power.
- On the Common Enemy: In the Watergate scandal, public opinion began to see the Nixon administration as a common enemy, which led some media outlets to expose the scandal more aggressively, thus achieving corporate exposure and also satisfying public sentiment and demand.
In conclusion, we should keep in mind that the media plays an important role in shaping public opinion and exposing government misconduct. Manufacturing consent reveals how the upper classes control and distort the news to convince the public of whatever is best for them.
Reference
- Anon (2021) Watergate scandal. Encyclopedia of the American Presidency p.1930–1935.
- Ghosh, B., 2022. Politics of manufacturing consent in a post-truth society. Journal of Developing Societies, 38(1), pp.7-26.
- Parenti, M. (1997). Inventing Reality: The Politics of News Media.
- Rick, P.(2023)Watergate scandal United States history.Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/Watergate-Scanda
I think you have done a great job in discussing the many facets of manufacturing consent behind the government. Your arguments throughout the essay are logically rigorous and have a high degree of clarity. You have added to the argument which is good. Also the fact that you cite authoritative sources, data or research to support points shows that you have in-depth knowledge and research on the topic you want to discuss. Your blog is able to provide readers with new perspectives or inspire thought, which I think is something to offer to think about.
I really like your typography and the pictures you added. Your pictures fit very well with your words. In addition to that, you used the case study of President Nixon’s resignation as an analysis and explained the theory in a very thorough way, while at the same time allowing me to remember the theory and the event in a deeper way, as well as having my own insights and analyses. At the beginning of the essay you mention that governments and large corporations spread what is good for them to the public by distorting the facts, but in the conclusion you write that we should not ignore the importance of the media in shaping public opinion and exposing government misconduct. So do you think that the media plays a bigger role in the whole process of media communication or the government?