Week 2

1. Week 2 Bias and Ethnocentrism Five Filters of Propaganda

3. Bias • Each person and each professor has their own perspective. • Biology • Gene Theory of Evolution • Symbiogenesis Theory of Evolution

4. My Perspective • I am a critical Political-Economist • Like other courses you take, the content closely follows the professor’s perspective. • This class is no different. • You will, however, get a different perspective from what you are used to hearing!

5. Both Sides to an Issue? • Some people want to give equal time to opposing views. • Never just two sides. • “Balance” was ordered in coverage of civilian deaths in Afghanistan. • http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/1031-02.htm

6. Value Neutral or Objective • Some professors, journalists, or others will say they are objective. • Beware! • They are either ignorant of their bias • Or • They are intentionally trying to deceive you. • Remember, facts exist, but can be viewed differently depending on the perspective.

7. Ethnocentrism • Ethnocentrism is seeing and judging the world ONLY from your personal perspective. • Ethnocentrism also places ourselves in a superior position relative to other people in order to justify our actions.

8. Five Elements of Ethnocentrism • Viewing the Other as Inferior • Dehumanization • Civilizational Mission • Ideological Camouflage • Political Denial

9. Viewing the Other as Inferior • Biological Inferiority • Moral/Cultural Inferiority

10. Dehumanization • Once a group is viewed as inferior, it is easy to dehumanize them. • Individuals in the group are seen as less than true people, lacking souls, humanity, culture, etc. • Derogatory names are used to characterize the group.

11. Civilizational Mission • Because it believes it is superior, one group takes it upon itself to "civilize" the “inferior” people. • Manifest Destiny • White Man’s Burden • Crusade on Terrorism

12. Ideological Camouflage • The subjugation and ill-treatment of other people need justification. • Sham science • Bell Curve • Eugenics

13. Political Denial • Government denies responsibility in the mistreatment of a group of people. • Ecuador gives indigenous people rights to land in their territory, BUT the government retains the rights to what is BELOW the land!

14. Five Elements of Ethnocentrism • Viewing the Other as Inferior • Dehumanization • Civilizational Mission • Ideological Camouflage • Political Denial

15. Five Filters of Propaganda Distortion in the Media

16. Today • Five Filters of Propaganda • Concentration of Ownership • Advertising • “Sourcing” the News • Flak • Anti-Communism

18. Students and Education • More than 50% of students at four-year schools and more than 75% at two-year colleges lacked the skills to perform complex literacy tasks. • That means they could not … understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school. • http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-01-19-college-tasks_x.htm

19. Recent Media Studies • “A new study based on a series of seven US polls conducted from January through September of this year reveals that before and after the Iraq war, a majority of Americans have had significant misperceptions and these are highly related to support for the war in Iraq.” • http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/international_security_bt/102.php?nid=&id=&pnt=102&lb=brus

20. Misperceptions Support War

21. Five Filters in the Propaganda Model • Concentration of Ownership • Advertising • “Sourcing” the News • Flak • Anti-Communism

22. Concentration of Ownership • 20 years ago, 50 companies controlled the vast majority of media resources. Now, it is five. • “These five huge corporations — • Time Warner, • Disney, (owns ABC) • Murdoch's News Corporation, • Bertelsmann of Germany, and • Viacom (formerly CBS) • — own most of the newspapers, magazines, books, radio and TV stations, and movie studios of the United States.” http://www.benbagdikian.com/

23. Advertising • Advertising supports the costs of production for media outlets. • Outlets not able to attract advertisers are less able to compete. • Advertisers seek a “buying mood.”

24. Sources • Media outlets attempt to save money and time by relying on readily available sources for news. • Corporations, politicians and others provide press releases, press conferences and prepared videos for the media.

25. Flak • People and groups dissatisfied with media coverage will attempt to change coverage through complaints. • Complaints by pundits and editorial writers • Complaints by organized groups • Complaints by politicians

26. Anti-Communism • While the authors wrote about the concept of anti-communism, we can see its application today. • Both the terms “liberal” and “terrorism” are used to dichotomize debate. • You are either with us, or against us. • The fear of terrorism is used to promote policies.

27. Outfoxed • Concentration of Ownership • How does Murdoch and editors control news through memos? • Advertising • What is the “Fox Effect” on other networks? • Sources • Where does Fox get its information, commentators and guests? • Flak • Shut Up! • Personal Attacks • Anti-Terrorism

28. Coming up • Outfoxed • Applying the Filters of Propaganda