Noam Chomsky, one of the most respected political analyst and activist, in his book Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media analysed media's role in democratic societies in shaping opinions and perception of public- in the interest of influential corporations and political parties. We have to realise Media groups are NOT non profit social service organisations. Media Groups are businesses, and at the end of the day all that matters are profits. That is why and how they exist. And therefore they will protect interests of those who bring in the most profits - and in their case these are the large corporations, political parties with big pockets and secret agencies - both local and foreign - distributing their funds.
Instead of further writing on Chomsky and his work on media's role in democracy please view this short video, which will also help to put my present post in perspective.
Video: Media, Corporates, Politicians role in controlling Public opinion in Democracy
Those interested in more detail, please read Further Reading and Viewing at the end of the post.
The "Elite" Nexus strangling Pakistan
Apart from all the news surrounding CJ son, Malik Riaz and Establishment, the recent Familygate has revealed a much darker side of media and the "elite" mafia.
Apparently, The News owner, Mir Shakeel, Malik Riaz and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif have been having closed doors meeting to settle things and bring them closer. Malik Riaz has also been playing the middle man's role between Zardari and Nawaz Sharif for "Prime Minister swap" negotiations. It comes as a rude reminder - what these leaders say in public and what they do behind doors in power sharing deals.
Related Video: Pakistan's Elite Nexus-Political Parties, Media Groups, Corporate
The questions we actually need to ask are- what interests does a media group have in bringing closer a notorious business tycoon and a political party? was the political party, in this case PML-N, meeting them for the nation's benefit or their personal interests? It becomes clearer every passing day - when the nation is dipping to new lows, how do these "few" still grow at a rapid pace in their businesses and personal assets. And do watch out which party gets what coverage share on front pages of newspapers and in the evening news headlines of this particular media group, and in positive or negative projection.
If you further connect the dots, why were the journalists and anchors from the same media group the first ones to get information directly from Malik Riaz. Is this a coincidence? or did Mir Shakil - owner Jang and Geo Group arrange it? And did Malik Riaz and Mir Shakeel ur Rehman present Nawaz Sharif evidence against CJ son in their meeting two weeks ago - coincidently the same time it was shown to the journalists? I guess we would have to wait for local wikileaks or a whistle blower to know what actually transpired in that meeting, because we can just not expect these leaders to come out honestly in public. And "investigative journalist" from The News are just doing their job the best way they can- by following their bosses' orders. Do they have the courage to write an article investigating their boss meeting with Malik Riaz and Nawaz Sharif? I'm afraid not.
The fact is, this kind of "elite" nexus strangling the nation is not isolated to Pakistan only, it is present in other democracies as a way of controlling public. Media Groups are usually owned or in close collision with Major Corporates - and they along with politicians/establishment try to benefit each other and grow together. It is now our responsibility to analyse news that is fed to us by media and then how we - as the alternative voice and closer to ground reality - use the social media to express our opinions and spread it. I know our audience is small, but we have to start from somewhere.
Disclaimer: This post is not trying to implicate every journalist or newspaper group owner- but only those specifically in question here
Further reading and viewing
To review the entire documentary- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AnB8MuQ6DU)
I would suggest readers to read Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
According to his model, more democratic societies like the U.S. use subtle, non-violent means of control, unlike totalitarian systems, where physical force can readily be used to coerce the. In an often-quoted remark, Chomsky states that "propaganda is to a democracy what violence is to a dictator" (Media Control).
The model attempts to explain such a systemic bias in terms of structural economic causes rather than a conspiracy of people. It argues the bias derives from five "filters" that all published news must pass through which combine to systematically distort news coverage
- The first filter, ownership, notes that most major media outlets are owned by large corporations
- The second, funding, notes that the outlets derive the majority of their funding from advertising, not readers. Thus, since they are profit-oriented businesses selling a product—readers and audiences—to other businesses (advertisers), the model would expect them to publish news which would reflect the desires and values of those businesses.
- In addition, the news media are dependent on government institutions and major businesses with strong biases as sources (the third filter) for much of their information.
- Flak, the fourth filter, refers to the various pressure groups which go after the media for supposed bias and so on when they go out of line.
- Norms, the fifth filter, refer to the common conceptions shared by those in the profession of journalism.
