Politics and Media-Thesis: Systematic Propaganda is Evident in Canada’s Mass Media Essay Example
Politics and Media-Thesis: Systematic Propaganda is Evident in Canada’s Mass Media Essay Example

Politics and Media-Thesis: Systematic Propaganda is Evident in Canada’s Mass Media Essay Example

Available Only on StudyHippo
  • Pages: 7 (1915 words)
  • Published: April 17, 2017
  • Type: Essay
View Entire Sample
Text preview

Politics and media have been comrades in arms since ages. Propaganda has not won anything durable for the perpetrators of this white-collar crime, but the short-term damage inflicted by it is catastrophic in many cases. It has rewritten histories, doomed cultures and destroyed humanity as if human beings are moths! When the writers are hired by the media, to pen propaganda literature as part of the systematic campaign with motivated desires, ‘sword indeed becomes mightier than the pen.’

The sword has always been used not to cut fruits, but to slit throats. Media builds or breaks. It creates such devastating psychological waves within the mind of the reader; news becomes views, a difficult to give up addiction. This is propaganda at work. It has the telling impact on the human personality and one is ever influe

...

nced by it through the waking, dreaming and sleep states. The power of reasoning is completely hypnotized and doomed by it.

The function of propaganda, Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf, "is not to make an objective study of the truth" but to incite. (Khatchadourian, 2006) In the contemporary political history of the world, we have the example of Bin Laden. He agrees that he is an instigator. To build a case for the cause which he sees as Truth (all authors of propaganda do that because they have jaundiced eyes to identify truth), he does the perfect chiseling to distort facts, commits deliberate errors of omission, builds up his illogical logic and weaves stories that would put the best fiction writers to shame. To achieve his objectives and cherished goals he has to be contradictory. He says that the people of United

View entire sample
Join StudyHippo to see entire essay

States are good but strongly condemns the system that makes the nations slaves of the United States.

The ‘virtues’ of systematic propaganda through mass media were well calculated and implemented by all types of power groups, whether political or religious. If we turn the pages of history, during short bursts, politics and religion were one and the same with some rulers—even now it is the same with a number of countries. Hitler elaborated his thesis about politics and media with the aid of the propaganda tools available to him during his time. The powerful media like television were not available and yet he scored a perfect ten in the propaganda war. “Hitler believed that propaganda from the allies was the main reason that the Germans lost during World War I and felt that this form of warfare is needed to be a primary tool in modern warfare.

He felt that the public needed to be inundated with the ideology of the state at all times and through all mediums….. "To do this,” he said, “everything from child's story-book to the last newspaper, every theater, every cinema and every advertisement hoarding must be brought into the service of this single mission.” It was the media that generated widespread public support for him. Mind you, in 1938, Adolph Hitler was Time Magazine's "Man of the Year."

The tricks of the trade of the mass media magnates are nothing but systematic propaganda. The Hitlers of the mass media world! The methodology applied by them everywhere including Canada, is simple and flawless. A few slogans do the ultimate trick and infinite damage to the group or community against which it is used.

Whether it is promotion of potato chips, push to a particular personality, or a mass consumption product, the principle involved is the same-repeat the ‘truth’ like a robot. Over and over again! In the morning, during the noon and at night. Before the breakfast, during the lunch and after the dinner. Human mind is fickle, it tends to believe. It is not cut of alabaster to remain solid and firm.

Mass media can create such hype, it has the capacity to dilute the convictions and then superimpose its own ideas and take one towards the intended direction. A lie repeated from a particular platform thousand times, becomes the truth. This war of words is more dangerous than the war of weapons. Propaganda has a single point objective. It has the dedication of a Satan. For, Satan knows it very well that he has to face, in the end, utter humiliation and defeat and yet, see his dedication for the cause of negativity. Similar is the case with the propaganda. It does not ponder and weigh the consequences. It minds its own right, with unflinching faith! A conditioned media, a media that wears colored glasses, can never give the balanced coverage.

The grandeur that it carried with it as the proud Fourth Estate is part of its ancient heritage, if not an ancient memorial altogether. Canada’s Mass Media: The important Canadian Political Parties, having regard to the number of seats they contested for the 2006 Elections are: Christian Heritage Party 45 Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada 69 Bloc Québécois 75 Conservative Party of Canada 308 Green Party of Canada 308 Liberal Party of Canada 308 New Democratic Party 308

There are many more small and regional parties, that carry considerable local influence; if not win the elections, they contribute to the victory/defeat of a particular candidate, by nibbling votes. Majority of the Canadians know who is their uncrowned king, dominating and influencing their democracy. Media commands the all-pervading controlling influence on the political leaders on the one hand, and the masses on the other hand. They are the primary links between the vote and those voted to power.

The role they play to link or de-link the Chairless Powers (people) and the Powerful Chairs (those in powers) is indeed unique. Television, radio and newspapers are all the alternative beats of the same heart. Rather, they all belong to one family and it is engaged in either construction or destruction. The true and impartial media is the greatest asset for any country and for its people. Unfortunately, that does not happen, in the present circumstances, anywhere in the world, including Canada. The constructive role that the Fourth Estate played is the thing of the past. Once, they formed Public Opinion. Now, the question of survival is the prime concern with any independent news paper. To survive, the news paper owner has only two options. Go to a political boss, or visit an industrial magnate.

Both are not men of charity, they will quote a price. (Beggars can not be choosers!) Once you are in, the clutches are too strong and tempting. Live and let alive becomes the policy of the newspaper. Freedom of press is compromised by political interference. Health and vigor of democracy takes the back seat and sometimes the fatal blow. Reconciliation and tolerance become

the way of life with the press. Firstly, it is tolerance; secondly it is the acceptance. Then it is the turn of the willing surrender! It is the unique situation of love hate drama.

It is reasonable for you to believe that countries like USA and Canada are run not by Constitution and Democratic principles, but by the Propaganda Model , adopted by the ‘think-tanks’ ruling the country. You will veer around this opinion, if you make an impartial study, of Noam Chomksy. Some of his quotes are only the tip of the iceberg. They are just the sparks of the latent fire within him: “Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of the (U.S.) media.” “I think we can be reasonably confident that if the American population had the slightest idea of what is being done in their name, they would be utterly appalled.”

“The rascal multitudes are the proper targets of the mass media and a public education system geared to obedience and training in needed skills, including the skill of repeating patriotic slogans on timely occasions.” “….the media serve the interests of state and corporate power, which are closely interlinked, framing their reporting and analysis in a manner supportive of established privilege and limiting debate and discussion accordingly.”(Noam Choksy) The Propaganda Model of Noam Choksy helps us to understand the working of the mass media. How it is entwined with the political system, interrelated to the economy and the society in general.

The technological innovations have altered drastically the media and communication landscape, beyond recognition. Their power to influence the thinking of the society in all age groups has increased manifold. The power unleashed

by the 21st century media is perhaps more than the combined power of all the 20 centuries put together. Herman and Chomsky's 'propaganda model' argues that there are five classes of 'filters' in society that determine what is news; in other words, what gets printed in newspapers or broadcast by radio and television.

They are: ownership (is the story in line with the media owner's interests); advertising (is the story in line with the advertiser's interests); sourcing (does the story come from government departments and/or other powerful players); flack (if the story is aired, can the subjects of it pose a real threat, like the government, big advertisers and other organized groups); and ideology (does the story justify political maneuvering and defend corporate interests around the world). ( Jeffery Klaehn, 2005) One such example is George Bush’s war propaganda machine and the domination American mainstream media.

The five filters mentioned above will decide whether the news item s going to be used by the media. Canadian media organizations like CBC, the Globe and Mail and CANWEST Global are significantly influenced by the American mass media. The patterns of media ownership and control in USA and Canada are more or less similar. The power equations, viewed from any angle are identical.Just take this Canadian example. It is about Robert Babe tests. In his essay, “Newspaper Discourses on the Environment” The proposal to combat global warning were presented as a political power struggle, by the political bigwig.

That it was a scientific and environmental issue was sidetracked. Opinion poll results were manipulated and selectively published. The pro-business bias was clearly showing. Environmental position continued to be neglected. Whose heart it

is and who controls its beats, This is a strange property, on which the owner has lost right! (The heart of the Media whose beats are controlled by the Politicians or the business houses) None of the abovementioned parties have ever lost an opportunity to influence/gag the press in their own style, if they had an opportunity to do so and mostly they had and mostly they did.

But press freedom has evolved in Canada during the last 150 years, occasional setbacks notwithstanding. It loses freedom and wins it back again-this it self shows the strength of the democratic institutions, judiciary in particular. But this is only the part of the truth. Press freedom is also linked to various types of other freedoms, national security concerns; freedom of parliament etc. Democracy is a responsive set up. It is like the scale of justice. Both arms of the scale are important to arrive at the perfect count. Each arm of democracy is linked to a pivotal point of responsibility. It is plain and simple and does not require lots of elaboration or investigation-that Canada’s media are an ‘integral’ part of the machinations of politics.

Politics and media business are both operated for profit. The only exception is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The most profitable business in Canada is daily newspapers and privately owned broadcasting operations. Therefore, newspaper chains have become like the restaurant chains. ‘The food-for-thought’ business! The casualty of this chain business is virtual non-existence of newspaper competition.

Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New