The authors set out to show that an underlying elite consensus largely
structures all facets of the news. The result is an account of the propagandist
nature of the communications media, and of how they can be read, and their
function interpreted, in a new way.Rejecting the common perception of the press as cantankerous, obstinate and
ubiquitous in its search for truth, this book sets out to show that an
underlying elite consensus largely structures all facets of the news. The
authors dissect the way in which the marketplace and the economics of
publishing shape the news, and how issues are framed and topics chosen. They
contrast what they contend are double standards behind accounts of free
elections, a free press and governmental repression between Nicaragua and El
Salvador; between the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the American invasion
of Vietnam; and between the genocide in Cambodia under a pro-American
government and genocide under Pol Pot. The result is an account of the
propagandist nature of the communications media, and of how they can be read,
and their function interpreted, in a new way.
