Walter Lippmann’s Public Opinion was a tough read, but he made some interesting and well made points throughout his discussions. I really liked the point that he made about how the media ‘manufacture’s consent’. I felt like he meant that by this the media manufactures consent from the everyday consumer. By tuning in and watching a certain media or by using a specific type of media you are in fact giving your consent to the manufacturers. By giving them consent their media continues to succeed so they continue to produce it. For example, by tuning into Channel 4 news, you are giving them the consent that you like their show so they in turn keep producing the show. I feel that Lippmann’s sums up this idea perfectly with this quote: “"the manufacture of consent...was supposed to have died out with the appearance of democracy...but it has not died out. It has, in fact, improved enormously in technique...under the impact of propaganda; it is no longer plausible to believe in the original dogma of democracy." The flow of the consent has to start at the top and work its way down. Even though the everyday consumer, like myself, grants their consent by indulging in a specific media the gatekeepers still control what is shown. The control of what is shown by the gatekeepers starts at the top with the elite and works its way down.
In our class, I feel that a majority of the media that we’ve looked at have all required a gatekeeper as well as a
manufacturer’s consent to keep them going. The thing I feel that it connects too most is the gatekeeping theory. The theory states, “The people who hold decision-making positions in our society actually select the information and ideas that will be allowed to pass through the ‘gates’ and be incorporated in our culture.” Therefore, although we give our consent to watch a certain media produced by a certain corporation we are in fact giving our consent to the gatekeepers. Our consent gives them more power to decide exactly what information is allowed to us through the specific media that we choose.
manufacturer’s consent to keep them going. The thing I feel that it connects too most is the gatekeeping theory. The theory states, “The people who hold decision-making positions in our society actually select the information and ideas that will be allowed to pass through the ‘gates’ and be incorporated in our culture.” Therefore, although we give our consent to watch a certain media produced by a certain corporation we are in fact giving our consent to the gatekeepers. Our consent gives them more power to decide exactly what information is allowed to us through the specific media that we choose.
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