preface

McChesney's book examines eight myths surrounding the U.S. media system. They are:

1) That the media merely reflect reality, not shape it...

The media constitute a social force in their own right, subject to powerful economic forces (e.g. commericial and advertising interests) that influence its content, and thereby shape the reality
that we come to know through that content.

2) That the corporate, commercial media system is "natural", a logical outgrowth of democracy...

The notion of a for-profit media system would likely cause the founding fathers to turn in their graves, and the notion that such a system is "free" (a view in fact propogated by the corporate media system) would likely cause their self-exhumation...

3) That debates concering media policy accurately reflect public opinion/public interest...

Public involvement in the shaping of media policy has fallen by the way side, being instead supplanted by powerful corporate interests whom the media have come to serve and depend on for their well-being. The result? Let me count the ways...

4) That commericial media unquestionably provide the highest quality journalism possible...

The very nature of a commericial media system is paradoxical to the notion of journalism providing the necessary information to sustain an informed citizenry. When profit enters the picture, any idealistic sense of what journalism is or should be becomes de-throned, subject to forces which tarnish its processes and products.

5) That the news media in the U.S. has a significant "left-wing" bias...

A myth actively created by those on the right to further their vision. Compare this with Chomsky's notion that the overall range of the political spectrum itself has moved to the right, so that what once seemed "left" is actually more moderate, and what is now "right" is even more conservative/extreme than before...

before ........... L ------------moderate------------R

now ................................ L -----------moderate------------R

6) That market forces (e.g. the drive for profit) provide the best product, the product that the people want...

This is more rhetoric lauding the success of the "free market system" in our lives, when in fact government involvement is rampant, to the extent that without it, it is very likely that the "free market system" would collapse. Regarding the media, the desire for profit results in products that are not necessarily the best, nor what people necessarily want. McChesney uses the phrase the "hyper-commercial carpet bombing" of our culture, a vivid image of the reality of our times.

7) That technologies determine the nature of media...

Has the emergence of the Internet and digital communication precluded the need for public policy regarding these forms of communication?Embracing such a view only allows those with vested interests in using these new mediums to pursue profit to reach that goal unchallenged by the public. It just makes it that much easier for them, and makes us that much more dependent on what they do, for in the process, they ultimately come to shape our choices and in turn, our reality...

8) That no alternative to the status quo will improve matters...

This is perhaps the most ideological of all the myths, the most empowering for those in control of the media system, and has the most disempowering, apathy-inducing effects for those who consume the products that that system creates. This is one of the oldest tricks in the book, as it were. How is it done in this case, regarding commerical media? Hopefully McChesney's book will provide some answers...

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McChesney's understanding of the core problems of the U.S. media system lies in the inter-relationship of three components...


inadequate journalism/hyper-commercialism

commercial structures (of the media)

(links to) explicit government policies