155.2
Manufacturing Dissent
In Manufacturing Consent (1988), Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky explain the relationship between the power elite and the corporate mass media as well as how that relationship affects the ownership, processes and products of the corporate media as well as its impact on the general public. They argue that the profit motive propels the corporate media to create a stable and profitable pro-business environment and that in that environment reporting that is favourable to corporate business over public interest is preferred. In such an environment, reporting that favours accuracy over profits fails and is relegated to the margins of the publishing profession. The distortion of news is made worse by the news media dependence on government sources for news and information as well as the impact of sanctions that arise from being out of favour with corporate and government sources. The consequence is that, in order to stay in business, corporate news media distort their reporting to favour the views of corporate business and government.
Contrary to the propaganda model which sees a coincidence in the interests of the corporate media, the state, and corporations, this paper argues that, in colonies as well as in former colonies, the corporate media strategically becomes the third force which functions to demonise, counter the anti-colonial forces as well as create doubt in their objectives and strategies. After independence, when the anti-colonial forces have won, the corporate media continues its war on the post-colonial government by creating and encouraging doubt in the ability of the post-colonial government to govern. They do this in collusion, subtle and overt with opposition parties by thwarting, challenging and confronting the post-colonial government’s every move. Accordingly, the policies of post-colonial governments are questioned and attacked as the media normally does for enemy states.