Propaganda is the conscious manipulation of information in order to gain political advantage. Chomsky and Herman believe that the American news media function as "propaganda agencies" of what they call the 'national security state' (NSS). They say that ownership, advertising, dependence on official sources, 'flak' (propaganda campaigns, intimidation and use of the law) and 'anti-communism' serve to twist the facts in order to be conveyed in the interests of those in power. Historically, propaganda has been most obvious during times of war or national crisis when the government feels the need to control the media in order to get national unity. This normally results in alternative views not being shown on television as often if at all. T

Propaganda is also used during political campaigns. Around 60% of the population claim that their only source of political information is the television. Although TV must be seen to be even handed, it may help to skew a mood or create an image. Those in power have privileged access when it comes to setting the agenda for reporting news stories. For example, there was controversy when Greg Dyke was appointed as director general of the BBC as he was a known Labour supporter and had donated large amounts of money in the past to help the Labour campaign. If he has the power to control what is being broadcast and what is not then he is obviously going to promote Labour, whether he means to or not, on a sub-conscious level he could be showing more pro-Labour material than stories promoting other political parties. This theory could be applied to any situation as everybody has their own personal biases and if they are in a position of power within the media then that is obviously going to influence headlines. However television may boost a campaigners image without making a real difference to the number of people who are swayed by the argument, as was the case with Neil Kinnock in 1992. All politicians are aware of the effect the media can have, but maybe the voters are more resistant to manipulation than they think.

his kind of control over news coverage was started after American support for the Vietnam War in the late 1960's was eroded by the media's close scrutiny and questioning of American aims and methods, contributing towards the country's eventual withdrawal from Vietnam. Two main examples of this are the Falklands war of 1982 and the Gulf war of 1991. The government exerted strict control over how the wars were reported. The reasoning at the time was that this was for military security, but it has been argued that the aim was to ensure that public support was not undermined by information, in particular pictures, revealing the less attractive aspects of the wars, like military and civilian casualties. However there was some backlash to the propaganda. Channel 4 broadcast 'The Gulf Between Us' just before the Gulf War, presenting an Arab perspective on the conflict. Also the BBC's Panorama contained criticism of the decision to send the task force in the build-up to the Falklands war. Following this, the BBC was accused of treachery by both the government and newspapers promoting military action. A similar situation is going on at the moment with the threat of war on Iraq. Most news coverage has reported what was said in Tony Blair's dossier and that has pretty much been taken

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)