The Political Economy of Mass Media: How Manufacturing Consent Shapes Our World

RamV: There is no better time to read this book than now amidst the two ongoing wars to understand how our media distorts reality and toes the line of those who control them. Among the many distortions are how it reacts to and portrays terrible acts by our allies and client states as opposed to those we are inimical towards, as also how certain lives are considered 'not worthy;' in fact, there is a quote of Madeline Albright below.
Lesley Stahl: We have heard that half a million children have died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?
Madeleine Albright: I think this is a very hard choice, but the price—we think the price is worth it.
History repeats itself, only the actors change! But the 'think tank' - cesspool? - is the same in the recent repetition.

United States on Dec 09, 2023

Adri Verdini: Adoro Chomsky e questo libro è una lettura imprescindibile per comprendere le dinamiche della nostra società sempre più interconnessa e svilita da politiche eticamente scorrette.

Italy on Nov 15, 2023

David Bedford: I always wanted to read this book, I'm glad I did. Highly recommend!

Australia on Nov 07, 2023

Jassen Summogum: Unfortunately I cannot fully enjoy this edition as the writing is so small it hurts my eyes so sadly a poor print. However the content is 5 stars of what I have read and has been truly necessary and important for anyone interested in how the media and governments operate.

Find a better a print.

United Kingdom on Mar 25, 2023

Patrick: One of the most important Books in modern media and political theory, especially the first chapter. The book is fantastic however it definitely begins to slow down towards the end (the Vietnam chapter is a bit of a drag) however it's a must read

United Kingdom on Oct 23, 2020

Warren Flood: Difficult to write a review that would do this book justice. The propaganda model that is put forth in this book has been thoroughly researched and is very well fleshed out with both an extensive appendix and sources. I have looked for critiques of this book, however as I have not found any yet of academic quality, and considering that I am hardly an expert on the topic, it is difficult for me to make one either. The only thing that I will say is that you need to be aware of the context that this work was written in and the date it was published, 1988. Internet has greatly changed several aspects of the Media since the time this book was published, however (unfortunately) this book is still highly relevant.

If you are a Westerner and are unfamiliar with the main thesis of this work, or media studies in general (Edward Bernays for e.g.), then this book might very well revolutionize your understanding of the World that you and everyone one else on this planet lives in. A word of warning for younger readers or those unfamiliar with Chomsky, this is most definitely a work of academic writing. While it is certainly one of the most engagingly written academic works I have read,...

United Kingdom on Nov 17, 2015

K. Johnson: In "Manufacturing Consent" there are too many concepts to list in this critical and influential work by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman. Anyone who receives information from any form of media should read this book. If you're curious and/or question the information that you're bombarded with every single day and night of your life, check out "Manufacturing Consent."

So many questions, and more importantly so many answers, supported by data. Backed by facts. Who decides and chooses what we read and don't read? What we see and don't see? What we hear and don't hear? The power of the media and its influence often stems from not only what is reported but what is *not* reported. This, is power. And, who actually owns the major media conglomerates?

What we, the common people, discuss over a cup of coffee or beer at the dinner table is spoon-fed to us. The "topics of the day," week, or year, are handed to us on a dish. And naively, we eat what's on the plate.

This book is one of Chomsky's most influential and heuristic books. And, there is a reason why Noam Chomsky is blacklisted from the (MSM) mainstream media in the United States, while being the 8th most cited...

United States on May 27, 2010

HCE: "They who have put out the people's eyes reproach them of their blindness."
(John Milton; from epigraph to Manufacturing Consent).

In 1917, Woodrow Wilson established an independent agency, known variously as the Committee on Public Information (CPI) and the Creel Committee, whose purpose was to control public opinion in the US with an eye towards generating support for the war effort in general and cultivating a deep seated and abiding hatred of everything German in particular. Further, this bias propagating "machine" did not scruple to arouse fear and hatred of German-Americans as well--that was then manifest by the public at large--so effective was it at compelling prejudice via a calculated use of various media, including print and film.

And, although the CPI had been dissolved within two years, the all-important lesson of methodological mind control of the masses was not lost upon those facilitators of media propaganda Wilson had employed, most famously Walter Lippmann and Edward Bernays. Lippmann was to develop his ideas related to the establishing of opinion within the rank and file, which collective he deemed to be inherently deficient in participating in...

United States on Oct 10, 2009