Noam Chomsky has some extraordinary points about the relationship between the media, the citizens and the elite organizations in the United States. The documentary on “Manufacturing Consent” really made me think about all of these factors, and it the theory makes perfect sense to me personally. I can clearly see how the media, on a daily basis, selects certain topics or certain portions of a story to tell, and how one-sided many pieces of news actually could be (and probably are). I can also see how much of the people of the United States walk around every day unaware of how much biased news they are being exposed to throughout each day. In the video, it was said that this is about 80% of the population. Therefore, only about one out of five citizens (20% of the population) is actually well-informed about the latest topics in the news, if that many.

Having watched this video, I now want to know more about how I can ensure accuracy and thorough truth in the news that I read or see. If The New York Times and the Washington Post cannot even be all the way trusted, then which organizations can? I want to know where I should go for resources if I see a story on ABC World News and decide I want to know all sides of it, even those that were not told to me on ABC, for example. Hearing Chomsky’s logic makes me angry, because I feel there is a conspiracy behind many of the news stories told today, and the conspiracy involves feeding certain information to citizens with the goal of making them think a certain way, one that serves the interests of the wealthy and powerful in this nation.

Watching this documentary, in many aspects, confirmed what I already suspected. I am glad I watched it, though, and found out the truth about what goes on behind some of the most well-known media outlets in the United States. As stated, the video has inspired me and made me want to do further research into credible news sources. This was a good experience for me.