The Mass Media in America

In addition to the American system of education, the mass media in America — press, radio and television — have also been blamed for creating a false sense of reality and misleading people into supporting the political and economic status quo. In the eyes of many radicals, the managers of the media produce manipulated messages that secure popular support “for a social order that is not in the majority’s long-term interest.” ¹ Conservatives, on the other hand, argue that the media have become part of a new adversary culture, hostile to business and sanctioning the values of the counterculture, and they call attention to what they regard as the liberal bias of the media. ²