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Noam Chomsky
Author, activist, linguist, philosopher, professor
Noam Chomsky went to college and graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also earned his Ph.D. in linguistics. Upon completing his doctorate, Chomsky joined the staff at MIT, ultimately as full professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy. He has taught at MIT for over 50 consecutive years.
Chomsky has written hundreds of books, articles and essays on topics ranging from linguistics to propaganda, media reform, power and politics. A political and social activist all his life, Chomsky has been both praised and attacked for his political views which are largely critical of power. An ardent supporter of free speech, he opposes censorship. Of all Chomsky's books, one in particular speaks to the heart of ReGeneration.
First published in 1988, Manufacturing Consent (Chomsky and Edward S. Herman) examines the corporate nature of mass media news outlets. The book presents a model to explain this connection called the “propaganda model,” in which the corporate media are viewed as businesses selling a product; the product is the audience, and the buyers are advertisers.
The propaganda model goes on to explain that the same competitive pressures that exist in other industries exist among mass media corporations as well. As such, decisions about the stories that are covered, the style of coverage, and even the truthfulness of the reporting itself are made with the business’ best interest in mind, rather than that of the audience.
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