# Filters of the media The news that reaches us has always been written and edited by other people who follow a specific agenda (see [[Narratives of the world]]): it therefore has gone through several *filters*. The first filter is **==ownership==**: most media outlets are controlled by wealthy people. *The New York Times* is controlled by the Sulzberger family and, in Europe, Rupert Murdoch and Vincent Bolloré are two well-known media tycoons. It is natural for the ones in control to make sure that their possessions do not oppose their interests. The second filter is **==advertising==**: it is the primary source of revenue of most media, especially "free" media. However, a gas company such as ExxonMobil would refuse to be advertised by a newspaper that harshly criticizes polluting companies — and said newspaper would probably refuse anyway. It all follows that media outlets compete among themselves for advertising: advertisers want a large audience, and a rich one, ideally. Some even have explicit conditions on topics that are allowed or not: Proctor and Gamble does not allow programmes which are against the military or the business world. This filter greatly limits who can afford to publish radical opinions. The third filter is **==sourcing==**: the media want sources which are trustable and inexpensive, such as state outlets. Because of the symbiotic relationship they form with the government, some media may become reluctant to openly criticize it. The fourth filter is **==negative feedback==**: more powerful groups are more able to threaten the publishing of information they do not support, further reinforcing their control over the media. The fifth filter is **==ideology==**: this is now most visible in the conflict between the West and China, whose values are quite different. The West criticizes China's lack of democracy, while China claims the West is hypocritical and wants to keep its hegemony. What is more, developed countries are often dismissive of third-world conflicts: one should be conscious of this bias (see [[Neutrality is a definite judgement]]). Those five filters are all reasons to remain critical of the mainstream media, since democracy cannot exist without freedom of the press. However, while the existence of independent sources of information is important, we should be equally critical of them, lest we become blind believers of conspiracy theories (see [[Micro-targeting allows for the rewriting of public opinion]]). --- ## 📚 References - [‘Propaganda in the Free Press — an Interview with Edward Herman’](https://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Propaganda/Propaganda_Free_Press.html). Third World Traveler. - Herman, Edward S., and Noam Chomsky. *Manufacturing consent : the political economy of the mass media*. New York: Pantheon Books, 2002. Print.