Teets, Herman and Chomsky

Reading Herman and Chomsky confirmed some facts that I already assume/know. Mass media plays a huge role in society today, whether it be social networking, advertising, news, etc. Americans can’t seem to function properly today without a healthy dose of the mass media in their daily routine. The most disturbing feature of mass media is that it is controlled by a handful of people in relation to the United States population. It follows the idea of “He who has the gold rules” (Somebody that wasn’t Marx). Those in control of the mass media therefore control the advertising done by the mass media. Advertising is problematic because it makes small businesses obsolete to an extent. An example would be a small coffee shop getting pushed out by Starbucks. “Mom and Pop” businesses will become extinct due to advertising and the role it plays in media. Corporations will eventually take over everything, leaving limited options of where to consume. Americans subconsciously witness thousands of ads per day, which then causes them to make decisions based on said advertisements. What I’m getting it is people buy into anything that is thrown in their face. Infomercials are an excellent example of this. While a good portion of Americans would argue that infomercials advertise below average products, people continue to order these products based on the amount of advertising. Infomercials have become a huge part of media advertising, especially on television. Americans watch these infomercials and end up trusting the false statements being made by the pitchmen. This blind consumption is what will drive society even further down into the pit of mass media. Unfortunately we are in a downward spiral that does not seem to be reversing any time soon. More and more companies will be gobbled up by conglomerates until they become even more massive. There will be a point of no return, which I would argue has already been passed. Americans will see a decreased level of consumption options in the years to come, almost solely due to the success of mass media advertising.