An Inspired Radical: Media Education Perspectives on Noam Chomsky

'Noam Chomsky is arguably America's leading dissident. An inspired radical, Chomsky looks at journalistic censorship and the corporate control of the mass media. He challenges the US view of itself as a defender of democracy by revealing the hidden motivations of its policy makers.Many media educators have been influenced by his work and have applied his illuminating insights to important examples of US policy, from the Persian Gulf War to the bombing of Kosovo. However, I would caution teachers not to accept everything Chomsky says; otherwise, we are endorsing a monolithic view of the media.' This article looks at Noam Chomsky's theories of indoctrination and democracy, and his 'Propaganda Model of the Media', and suggests ways to study and debate his ideas in the classroom.