Within the third filter, ‘Sourcing Mass-Media News’, Chomsky claims that the symbiotic relationship between the mass-media and official sources of information is driven by economic necessity and reciprocity of interest(p. 18). I understand this to mean that both the mass-media and producers of official sources rely on a cooperative relationship to exist as both parties seek to reduce costs and can do so efficiently by working together to produce and publish news.
Chomsky claims that it is out of economic necessity that the mass-media must use official sources. He states that this economic necessity stems from the high cost of independent research and fact checking when using non-official sources(p. 19) and also because it is financially infeasible for the mass-media to disperse it’s resources to every area where news may break(p. 18). These economic constraints force mass-media corporations to allocate their resources to a few key areas including places such as city hall or police departments where news is likely to break and press conferences are often held which results in the reliance on official sources. By obtaining news using this method the costs in obtaining news is reduced as official sources are generally assumed to be credible and objective (p. 19), requiring minimal to no extra research. The official sources cater greatly to the mass-media through cost-reducing tactics including: providing facilities for media to gather in, providing journalists advance copies of speeches, scheduling conferences during hours well-geared toward news deadlines, and writing in usable language. Through this essential subsidization of the mass-media, official sources are able gain special access to the mass-media resulting in more frequent publication(p. 22). I believe that the special access that is gained from subsidization illustrates the reciprocity of interest between the two parties, both work to make sure each others’ needs are met and best interests are kept in mind. Chomsky explains that the reciprocity of interest between the mass-media and official sources is caused by the media’s “need (for a) steady, reliable flow of the raw material of news”(p. 18) which can be easily satisfied by the abundant creation of news material by official sources(p. 19). Reciprocity of interest also exists in the mass-media’s reluctancy to publish critical view points that may be offensive to the official sources; the mass-media keeps the official sources’ best interest in mind and vice-versa(p. 22). Overall, Chomsky claims that both economic necessity and reciprocity of interest are the driving forces behind the use of official sources by the mass-media and behind the symbiotic relationship that exists between powerful official sources and the mass-media.
To make my argument that the mass-media is no longer forced to use official sources out of economic necessity I would first like to explain that I will criticize Chomsky’s argument as it applies in the present day. I do believe that at the time the book Manufacturing Consent was written the argument that the mass-media use official sources due to economic necessity and reciprocity of interest was completely valid. In the present day I believe that the reciprocity of interest argument is still valid in the sense that the mass-media and official sources cater to each other; the official sources make it extremely easy and cheap to obtain news information helping the mass-media meet their output demand and in return the mass-media work to keep the official source’s best interests in mind. Over time I believe economic necessity argument has weakened to the point where it is no longer valid.
I offer the view point that since the time that Manufacturing Consent was written the time and resources required to obtain reliable, objective, non-official news has significantly decreased resulting in a significant drop in cost. With the recent proliferation of communications technology not only has the ease of access to news sources improved but also the sheer amount of news provided by non-corporate, non-government sources has increased drastically. The ease of access to these non-official sources also improves the reliability of them in the sense that they are under the scrutiny of many people. Many regular citizens take it upon themselves to do independent research and fact checking into non-official news, often times replying with findings on publicly viewable platforms which in turn reduces time costs of research for the mass-media. This greater ease of access to an abundant amount of news information should give the mass-media absolutely no reason to over-rely on the use of official sources.
The decreased cost and greater access to objective news worthy information comes from a variety sources that have emerged with the rise of communications technology. These sources can be collected through many means including: citizen journalism, freelance journalists, user-submission based archives on the internet, and media based sources captured by regular citizens. The time and cost in acquiring these sources is very minimal in comparison to dispersing resources to every possible area where news may break. Citizen created news is extremely abundant and can contribute greatly to the mass-media’s ongoing news output demands while providing a variety of viewpoints. Many mass-media corporations have realized the value in this and do call on citizens to submit their accounts of news events that they witnessed including statements, photographs, and videos. The publishing of this content is then at the discretion of the mass-media corporation.
I do believe that the media has a responsibility to publish content from official sources, both to satisfy output demands and to ensure that viewers are exposed to all viewpoints, however, if the mass-media chooses to over rely on these sources it is absolutely not out of economic necessity. If the mass-media is over relying on official sources it must stem from Chomsky’s reciprocity of interest argument. As previously stated, official sources go to great lengths to make it inexpensive and easy for mass-media companies to publish their news. After countless years of mass-media subsidization by powerful official sources the mass-media will feel obligated to keep official sources’ best interests in mind. By being conscious about what will offend official sources it seems obvious that many disagreeing viewpoints will be classified as unpublishable causing the mass media to fill these lost spots with more officially sourced news, clearly not an issue related economic necessity.
Although I believe my criticism nullifies Chomsky’s argument that economic necessity is a driving force behind the use of official sources, it does not collapse the entire propaganda model or the third filter itself. The negation of this claim allows for greater focus on reciprocity of interest within the filter and how long-standing relationships between the mass-media and official sources affects the news that is published. It is clear that through the rise of information technology and ease of access to non-official sources that the mass-media can indeed afford to publish multiple independent viewpoints. If it is the case that the mass-media chooses not to do so it must be attributed to reasons other than economic necessity.
Sources
Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky ‘Preface’ and ‘Chapter 1: A Propaganda Model’ in Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media.
Pantheon Books, N.Y., 1988. xi-xv. and 1-35.
Gouveia 1
