Herman & Chomsky write an eye-opening piece that goes beyond anything we could imagine in the United States. The land of the free? Who really knows? We are existing in a time where all of our decisions on a daily basis are completely being controlled and manipulated by the mass media. As the authors put it, "the media serve the ends of a dominant elite" (Herman, Chomsky, 2012, p. 204). This is entirely true due to the fact that politics in almost every country is driven by wealth, and wealth is the single key to power. Yes, people can use their voices and knowledge to obtain much power, but to make decisions, people must acquire an incentive, and a monetary incentive is as good as it gets for all parties involved. Thinking globally, people interpret the news "objectively" and sometimes remain an unbiased opinion. The only contingency to this is that the media has too many, "filters" as Herman and Chomsky put it. For the average American, most people are seen as either the middle or working classes. These classes and caste system are not fully educated on these media outlets that are being fed through them each day by deception. As a constant theme in this class, we understand the false realities of the 'free world' as we. know it. Media is one of the most profitable investments one can make at the starting point of the technological boom that arose in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond. The exponential growth of basic media and news can reach every corner of the globe. Again, the point about this caste system in the U.S. is a major flaw that was basically started by the founding fathers who put certain people in power for exponential generations to come by this unforeseen domino effect. It almost seems as if we have new founding fathers (the 1%). These are the individuals are, "the large media companies all do business with commercial and investment bankers, obtaining lines of credit and loans, and receiving advice and service in selling stock and bond issues and in dealing with acquisition opportunities and takeover threats. Banks and other institutional investors are also large owners of media stock" (Herman, Chomsky, 2012, p. 208). Thus far I have really only discussed ties between banks and the media. I have not even scratched the surface of how governments interfere, intercept, and manipulate. This is another filter that is directly linked to the monetary filters. Policymakers need support and advocates and the media is how they manipulate the general population's minds on trying to understand what is in the majority's best interest or to rephrase what is in the best interest of the status of the government's reelection. Reelection is what gives the banks and other driving forces the incentive to make more due to the policies that are presented. The media should have an agenda that is right and fair for all classes and people that are embedded within the nation. There are enough manipulators and figure heads of corruption and deceit. How do we put an end to these systemic patterns?
"This trend toward greater integration of the media into the market system has been accelerated by the loosening of rules limiting media concentration, cross-ownership, and control by non-media companies" (Hermand, Chomsky, 2012, p. 208).
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