SUMMARY - Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky

* Our summary is short, simple and pragmatic. It allows you to have the essential ideas of a big book in less than 30 minutes.

*As you read this summary, you will learn that the media condition us, and that propaganda most often replaces information.

*You will also learn : that in our democracies, consent to political decisions is largely "manufactured", or "conditioned", by the media; that implacable censorship exists, contrary to what the dominant discourse suggests; that this censorship is much more subtle than a simple frontal and open ban, since it functions largely in the mode of self-censorship; that, for the media, there are "good" and "bad" victims, each receiving different treatment; that political elections in developing countries are also subject to manipulation in media reporting; that outright disinformation sometimes replaces information.

*Power and money, and they alone, select the information in our democracies that is deemed suitable for disclosure to the "good people". It is through the media, the main ones belonging to very large groups whose financial strength impresses, that this real propaganda is carried out. Their role is to send messages and symbols to the population. In doing so, the media inculcate in the mass of citizens the beliefs and behaviors that are deemed socially acceptable and desirable by the ruling elites. In this way, for individuals, integration into the wider society, with its overriding economic imperatives, becomes possible.

*Buy now the summary of this book for the modest price of a cup of coffee!