Manufacturing consent is a concept initially argued by the mass communication media of the US, developed by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky in their book of the same name, Manufacturing Consent. The concept is primarily used to describe how the media shapes public opinion and perceptions in ways that serve specific interest groups in the political and economic spheres through journalism and public discourse without being visible.
The central idea of the theory is to suggest that while the media are generally perceived as neutral and objective sources of information, in reality, as a result of funding, political influence and market forces, the media tend to indirectly support and disseminate views and agendas that favour the ruling elites and the economically powerful. This phenomenon is reflected in many forms of media, including television, newspapers, film and online media.
Part of creating consent is selective reporting, highlighting certain events while ignoring or downplaying others. It can be used in many aspects of real life. One of these is in election campaigns. The media releases impact public opinion and voter behaviour, whether it is the most common political campaign or a public figure who has to do public canvassing for some award. For example, during Trump’s presidential campaign, there were scandals of disrespect for women that were exposed and drew the attention of the general public. After his daughter Ivanka came out to defend him, many Republican-leaning media outlets began to report on interviews with her daughter as a way of changing the trend of public opinion in favour of the Republican front-runner, while Democrat-preferring media outlets continued to focus on news stories related to the disrespect of women.
In addition to campaigning, another everyday real-world use is corporate crisis management. Companies facing a crisis can use the media to change public perception. This may downplay negative impacts, emphasise positive actions or deflect blame, greatly influencing public opinion. For example, KFC, which caused consumer dissatisfaction in 2018 due to a large number of shop closures due to a chicken shortage, campaigned for an apology with a cheeky advert featuring empty chicken buckets emblazoned with FCK, winning back some of its customers’ hearts through clever humour.
In conclusion, even though Manufacturing Consent is a theory book released in 1988, its impact on media scholars is still very much thought-provoking today.
Reference list
Amatulli, J. (2018). KFC Says ‘FCK’ In Full-Page Ad Apologizing For Chicken Shortage. HuffPost UK. Available from https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/kfc-says-fck-in-full-page-ad-apologizing-for-chicken-shortage_n_5a9034b1e4b0ee6416a2adfb.
Ghosh, B. (2022). Politics of Manufacturing Consent in a Post-Truth Society. Journal of Developing Societies, 0169796X2110684. Available from https://doi.org/10.1177/0169796×211068451.
Herman, E.S. and Chomsky, N. (1988). Manufacturing Consent: the Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Books.
Kumar, A. (2020). Trump taps Ivanka for a rescue mission: Win back suburban women. POLITICO. Available from https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/21/ivanka-suburban-women-11th-hour-430784 [Accessed 21 November 2023].
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