Douglas Kellner, Television and the Crisis of Democracy, Boulder: Westview Press, 1990.

 

 

Overview

 

Kellner argues that the mainstream media promotes the growth of corporate and state power and ignores its duty to provide information to a democratic society.

 

 

Summary

 

 

The first chapter makes the claim that corporate media’s best interests lie in hegemony. The book identifies two types of social control.  The first, “force”, uses the law, police and prisons.  The second is “consent.” 

 

Hegemonic ideology attempts to legitimate the existing society, its institutions, and its way of life.  Ideology becomes hegemonic when it is widely accepted as describing “the way things are,” inducing people to consent to the institutions and practices dominant in their society and way of life…  Through ideological mediation, hegemonic ideology is translated into everyday consciousness and serves as a means of “indirect rule…”

 

The second chapter covers the roots of the broadcasting and mass media industry.  It begins with radio, which was a wartime innovation originally controlled by the Navy.  The government wanted to develop the nation into a communications superpower and control of the technology went to the private sector.  Large corporations took control and went unregulated until the creation of the FCC when it was decided that radio constituted a public utility. 

 

Several points about the behavior of the FCC are also noted, especially the policy of limiting access to broadcast media.  As FM radio was being developed the FCC placed it in a hold and then changed the technical specifications, forcing many to restart from scratch.  Similarly, UHF television was delayed, limiting public voice.

 

The last chapters and appendixes deal with the behavior of the mainstream media, primarily focusing on the Reagan/Bush years and specifically their underreported scandals. 

 

The “October Surprise.” 

 

As the 1980 presidential election neared Iran was in negotiation with the Carter administration to release the American hostages.  One of the main platforms of Reagan’s campaign was the failure of Carter to bring the hostages home.  When it appeared likely that the hostages would be released before the election, Reagan’s team negotiated with the Iranians to keep the hostages longer. This story was never picked up by the mainstream press.

 

The story was first reported in the Miami Herald in 1987 (and then further elaborated by reports in The Nation and In These Times which reported that Reagan representatives met with Iranian officials.  Shortly later the Iranians removed themselves from talks with the Carter administration.  Former Iranian president Abolhassan Bani-Sadr confirmed that he learned that two of his aids negotiated with the Reagan camp.

 

Iran/Contra.

 

While this story was reported in the mainstream media the book chooses to look at instances in this scandal where the media chose to ignore events.  The basic version of this story is that the CIA helped drug dealers sneak drugs into the country in exchange for money that could be spent on third world armies fighting communist governments.

 

In the CBS news report that broke the story thirty-six sources confirmed the reports including three of the pilots who flew the planes filled with drugs and weapons.  Few other mainstream reports surfaced.  When Congress held hearings the National Security State apparatus was able to, thanks to a lack of public knowledge, create a scapegoat and keep sensitive revelations private.

 

The Big Cover-Up: Bush and the 1988 Election.

 

Several minor stories that were uncovered in the 1988 campaign season that cast then candidate George Bush in a bad light were never investigated. 

 

First, memos were found that indicate his involvement with the CIA began far earlier than he claimed.  The CIA stated that these memos referred to a different George Bush and the network let the stories drop despite the fact that the other Bush was in no position to be mentioned in a high level memo.

 

Second, there was evidence that Bush held close ties to Noriega who was a fairly well known drug dealer and a participant in Iran/Contra.  A participant reported that all of his CIA contacts reported directly to then Vice-President Bush.  All of these CIA operatives served under Bush when he was CIA director and it was stated “Here you have a CIA guy reporting to his old boss.”

 

 

Summary by Claude Elkins