In his book Manufacturing Consent, Noam Chomsky offers insight into how media can shape public perceptions and opinions through various means. It is an in-depth analysis of how the media shapes public perceptions and opinions by selecting, emphasizing, and omitting information. He pointed out that media coverage does not simply convey facts, but serves specific social interest groups and creates consensus through a “propaganda model.” This phenomenon can be seen everywhere in our daily lives, with the media guiding us to think, feel and even act through carefully curated reports and comments. The work is like a mirror reflecting the omnipresence of media manipulation in our daily lives.
Every time we turn on the TV, browse the web or read the newspaper, we are surrounded by a lot of news and information. From television to social media, from newspapers to online news, media permeates our lives in many forms. However, this information is often not completely objective and neutral. Media organizations are influenced by various factors when reporting news, including political affiliations, business interests, and so on. These factors make the media selectively emphasize certain content while ignoring or downplaying others when presenting information.
This kind of media manipulation can be seen everywhere in our daily lives. The media does not simply convey information; it creates consensus. Through a complex series of operations, they impose specific views and ideologies on the public so that we unknowingly accept and agree with them. From the guidance of public opinion in political elections to the reporting of hot social events to the marketing strategy of commercial advertisements, media are playing an important role. We guide our thinking and value judgments by selectively reporting the news and using specific language and frameworks.
We must not be bound by the cognition shaped by the media but obtain information through multiple channels, maintain independent and critical thinking, examine and analyze information from multiple perspectives, and form our own judgments and opinions. Only in this way can we keep a clear head in the age of information explosion.
Reference:
Chomsky, N. (1988). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Pantheon Books.
You’ve explained the theory in depth and made it easy to follow and understand. Audiences that don’t know the theory of manufacturing consent could keep up and gain knowledge of the theory from your blog as you have explained it very well. However, to help audiences understand the theory better you could have looked for a specific example to apply the theory to extend your demonstration of knowledge of the concepts within manufacturing consent.
You could have tried to find bad press on a celebrity that tries to change the audience’s opinion of them negatively. Such as the bad press Ariana Grande has had with her supposed cheating scandals and creating concern around the celebrity with her recent weight loss while being on the press tour of Wicked. Having a specific example would elevate your blog as it creates a bigger understanding of the theory you discuss.
Overall, you have explained the theory well and it is engaging, but a specific example would create an even better understanding of manufacturing consent.