Overview
1. Read the introduction of Manufacturing Consent: Herman and Chomsky -- Propaganda Model.pdf. Download Herman and Chomsky -- Propaganda Model.pdf. While you read, consider the following: What is the argument being made by Herman and Chomsky? Do you find it convincing? Why or why not? To what extent does the argument, which is now nearly forty years old, hold up? To what extent has the media landscape changed?
2. Choose a topic and select at least three media documents that report on it. Your documents can be drawn from a source, but they should be drawn from the corporate media or created by people who are employed by the corporate media. Your topic should be a course topic (one of our weekly topics0 or a topic that is related to our course material. If you have questions about the suitability of your topic or your media documents, please let me know.
3. Using Herman and Chomsky's model as a guide, scrutinize and analyze your documents. Write an essay of approximately 1,500 words that answers some of the following questions: What biases do your documents exhibit? What assumptions do they make in discussing their subject? Do they leave out important context? Based on your reading of the documents, how would you characterize the corporate media's reporting on your topic? Do you feel that your topic is being covered fairly and accurately? Why or why not? Does Herman and Chomsky's "Propaganda Model" prove useful in conducting media criticism in today's world?