Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media | 
| Authors: Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky
Publisher: Pantheon
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  86 reviews
Sales Rank: 6448
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2
ISBN: 0375714499
Dewey Decimal Number: 381.4530223
EAN: 9780375714498
ASIN: 0375714499
Publication Date: January 15, 2002
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Amazon.com Review
An absolutely brilliant analysis of the ways in which individuals and organizations of the media are influenced to shape the social agendas of knowledge and, therefore, belief. Contrary to the popular conception of members of the press as hard-bitten realists doggedly pursuing unpopular truths, Herman and Chomsky prove conclusively that the free-market economics model of media leads inevitably to normative and narrow reporting. Whether or not you've seen the eye-opening movie, buy this book, and you will be a far more knowledgeable person and much less prone to having your beliefs manipulated as easily as the press.
Product Description
In this pathbreaking work, now with a new introduction, Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky show that, contrary to the usual image of the news media as cantankerous, obstinate, and ubiquitous in their search for truth and defense of justice, in their actual practice they defend the economic, social, and political agendas of the privileged groups that dominate domestic society, the state, and the global order.
Based on a series of case studies—including the media’s dichotomous treatment of “worthy” versus “unworthy” victims, “legitimizing” and “meaningless” Third World elections, and devastating critiques of media coverage of the U.S. wars against Indochina—Herman and Chomsky draw on decades of criticism and research to propose a Propaganda Model to explain the media’s behavior and performance. Their new introduction updates the Propaganda Model and the earlier case studies, and it discusses several other applications. These include the manner in which the media covered the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement and subsequent Mexican financial meltdown of 1994-1995, the media’s handling of the protests against the World Trade Organization, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund in 1999 and 2000, and the media’s treatment of the chemical industry and its regulation. What emerges from this work is a powerful assessment of how propagandistic the U.S. mass media are, how they systematically fail to live up to their self-image as providers of the kind of information that people need to make sense of the world, and how we can understand their function in a radically new way.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 81 more reviews...
 Your life could depend on reading this book. June 1, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Hey folks,
If you're out there considering buying this book, please know that it might prove to be one of the most important books you'll ever read.
You might realize that our government isn't always straightfoward with us. You might even have noticed the lack of objective and complete news reporting that is prevailing with the media these days. This book will show you how our government, large corporations, and the media work in concert to keep Americans in the dark about things that affect our most vital interests. It sounds like a conspiracy theory, I know--because that's the reaction we've all been conditioned to have about material like this. However, every fact in this book is verifiable. Please take the time to read it!!
I also highly recommend Blowback by Chalmers Johnson.
Read these books--learn to see past the propaganda we are inundated with daily!
Eye Opener March 24, 2008
This book though old but was a revelation for me. I have become a huge fan of Mr. Noam Chomsky and by reading this book (still reading) of Mr. Edward Herman. The best about the book is that the work is mostly based on Hard Facts and proved by relevant documents etc. This also terrifies one that how media is changing minds and achieving something which could not be possible that easily. My limited knowledge on the subject is holding me to write more. WONDERFUL WORK.
Faisal Khan
 Eye Opening February 18, 2008
Quite simply, this book will open your eyes to alot that goes on right in front of them. Many would say this is a conspiracay theory, but we know conspiracies do happen. Chomsky highlights just how the government can assert its control on an unknowing populace. Nietzsche said that if you are raising a population of slaves, it would be madness to teach them to be the masters; I recommend that anyone who does not want to live their life as an automoton, that is, if you are someone who questions things and does not simply accept things on blind faith, read this book. (I give this book only four stars because there are other topics which capture my attention much more; but nonetheless, if you only read a handful of books in your life, this should be one of them!)
One of Chomsky's best (and still applicable today) February 10, 2008
Though I have not finished this book yet (I'm taking my time to understand many of Chomsky's more subtle points -- as usual) it seems just as applicable to me today as when he wrote it. However, I would love to see a follow up book discussing how the technologies that have matured since he wrote this have affected his main point.
Chomsky, if you're reading ... please write an updated version. I'd like to see what you think of people like google, the web 2.0 movement and the way many people are now getting their information from even more questionable sources and how large media conglomerates can now plant information on the Web even more easily than they could broadcast it on the air before.
Chomsky's pinnacle December 28, 2007
You'll never see the mass media the same again. This book shouldn't make you hate the evening news or your local paper, but it will force you to see them with a more critical eye. A healthy dose of skepticism.
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