Noam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky (1928) is a linguist, cognitive scientist, historian, philosopher and anarcho-syndicalist activist who has focused on criticism of US foreign policy, the mass media and corporations.

Life

Family

Noam's parents were immigrants to the USA from Eastern Europe, his mother, Elsie Simonofsky, came from Belarus in 1906. Whilst his father, William Chomsky, left Ukraine for the USA in 1913 and became an IWW member at some point.

Early Life

Chomsky has been described as very competitive and educated as a child. He was raised Jewish, being taught Hebrew and regulary discussing Zionism, influenced by the Left Zionist Ahad Ha'am. As a Jew, Chomsky faced anti-semitism as a child, particularly from the Irish and German communities living in Philadelphia.

Ideas

Propaganda Model

See Also: Propaganda Model

Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman analyzed western media output throughout the 1980s and came to the conclusion that five main factors were behind media biases towards a pro-corporate, pro-state outlook on the world.

1. The expensive and increasing cost of producing media ensures that only wealthy organizations will be able to afford it. Hence media will not be critical of wealthy organizations as an institution.
2. Media production costs more than consumers will pay, so advertisers pay for the costs, ensuring media will remain uncritical of advertising as an institution, the specific companies behind the advertising will not be criticized and what the media will broadcast will not make people too pessimistic.
3. Media cannot afford to place reporters everywhere, and therefore will put them in contact with places where the most interesting news comes from (ie corporate or government offices) and
4. Business organizations regularly form 'flak machines' to spread confusion or mistrust in sources which actively criticise certain things.
5. In order to maximize attention from viewers, media will often exaggerate stories and create an atmosphere of fear. This plays in with point 3, where enemies of the state - good or bad - will be portrayed as inhuman monsters.

These five filters play together to ensure people have faith in the government and corporations, or at least cannot conceive of an alternative to them.ist.