Page 29 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

Public Trust, Media, and the "War on Terror" 19

economic factors (such as corporate ownership) that determine the nature of
media coverage.
The study of the political economy of the corporate media should be placed
at the forefront of analysis of American media. Within a political economy
analysis, one looks to analyze the ways in which media corporations work coop-
eratively with other major corporations and with political leaders in order to
reinforce the "privileged position of business" in society today.55 Corporate me-
dia outlets do not merely "represent" corporate America-they are in fact an
integral part of corporate America. As Communications Professor Peter Phillips
identifies, "the top eleven media corporations in the U.S. form a solid network
of overlapping interests and affiliations. The 155 directors of these eleven media
corporations sit on the board of directors of 144 of the Fortune 1000 corpora-
tions and interlock with each other through shared directorships in other firms
some thirty-six times."56
Two of the primary goals behind this system of political economy include:
1. the preoccupation (at least for media corporations) with selling affluent con-
sumer audiences to corporate advertisers; and 2. the commitment to the prolif-
eration of corporate capitalism on a global scale, typically through the use of
"soft" and "hard" power, as seen in practices such as the promotion of corporate
globalization, support for pro-capitalist governments worldwide (regardless of
whether they are democracies or not), and an extensive reliance on military
force in imposing the U.S. foreign policy agenda.
From a political economy understanding, corporate and government elites
do not represent fundamentally separate interests-rather they work together in
reinforcing corporate power and prestige in American society and abroad. This
is not to say, however, that there is no conflict within this elite class of political
and business leaders. Naturally, there is bound to be disagreement within any
country among ruling elites, and the United States is no different, as the narrow
range of disagreements and criticisms originating from within corporate media
over the Iraq war are a clear sign of ongoing debate and disagreement amongst
elites. The study of the "Indexing" effect in mass media-which will be dis-
cussed later in thls chapter-intends to account for ways in which disagreements
amongst elites translate into disagreement throughout mass media reporting and
editorializing.
Acknowledging the tendency of elites to disagree, however, does not negate
the reality that American political and economic elites are largely in agreement
over the importance of censoring Progressive-Lefi critics of government and
corporate America. Any understanding of political economy requires the recog-
nition that major criticisms of big business are generally regarded with discom-
fort and contempt by advertisers underwriting corporate media programming. As
a number of media analysts have noted, corporate executives generally prefer to
advertise with news outlets and programs that refrain from focusing on stories
critical of big b~siness.'~ Such stories tend to raise serious questions about trust
in government and big business-hence journalists, editors, and media owners
often consider these stories to be a liability.