This
study by Swiss Propaganda Research was first published in 2016, it is
presented by
off-guardian.org
in English for the first time. Translated by Terje Maloy.
It
is one of the most important aspects of our media system – and yet
hardly known to the public: most of the international news coverage
in Western media is provided by only three global news agencies based
in New York, London and Paris.
The
key role played by these agencies means that Western media often
report on the same topics, even using the same wording. In addition,
governments, military and intelligence services use these global news
agencies as multipliers to spread their messages around the world.
A
study of the Syria war coverage by nine leading European newspapers
clearly illustrates these issues: 78% of all articles were based in
whole or in part on agency reports, yet
0% on investigative research.
Moreover, 82% of all opinion pieces and interviews were in favor of
the US and NATO intervention, while propaganda was attributed
exclusively to the opposite side.
Part
8 - The desired narrative
But why
do journalists in our media not simply try to research and report
independently of the global agencies and the Anglo-Saxon media?
Middle East correspondent Luyendijk describes his experiences:
“You
might suggest that I should have looked for sources I could trust. I
did try, but whenever I wanted to write a story without using news
agencies, the main Anglo-Saxon media, or talking heads, it fell
apart. () Obviously I, as a correspondent, could tell very different
stories about one and the same situation. But the media could only
present one of them, and often enough, that was exactly the story
that confirmed the prevailing image.”
Media
researcher Noam Chomsky has described this effect in his essay “What
makes the mainstream media mainstream” as follows:
“If
you leave the official line, if you produce dissenting reports, then
you will soon feel this…There are many ways to get you back in line
quickly. If you don’t follow the guidelines, you will not keep your
job long. This system works pretty well, and it reflects established
power structures.”
Nevertheless,
some of the leading journalists continue to believe that nobody can
tell them what to write. How does this add up? Media researcher
Chomsky clarifies the apparent contradiction:
“[T]he
point is that they wouldn’t be there unless they had already
demonstrated that nobody has to tell them what to write because they
are going say the right thing. If they had started off at the Metro
desk, or something, and had pursued the wrong kind of stories, they
never would have made it to the positions where they can now say
anything they like…They have been through the socialization
system.”
Ultimately,
this “socialization process” leads to a journalism that no longer
independently researches and critically reports on geopolitical
conflicts (and some other topics), but seeks to consolidate the
desired narrative through appropriate editorials, commentary, and
interviewees.
Further
info, references, sources:
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