Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 12-2017 Libya, The New York Times, and a Propaganda Model of the Mass Media Randy LaPrairie Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation LaPrairie, Randy, "Libya, The New York Times, and a Propaganda Model of the Mass Media" (2017). Master's Theses. 1995. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/1995 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LIBYA, THE NEW YORK TIMES, AND A PROPAGANDA MODEL OF THE MASS MEDIA by Randy LaPrairie A thesis submitted to the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Sociology Western Michigan University December 2017 Thesis Committee: Gregory Howard, Ph.D., Chair Barry Goetz, Ph.D. Ronald Kramer, Ph.D. LIBYA, THE NEW YORK TIMES, AND A PROPAGANDA MODEL OF THE MASS MEDIA Randy LaPrairie, M.A. Western Michigan University, 2017 This project derives a set of research expectations from the propaganda model, a structural model of the corporate news media developed by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky. The model predicts that the news media will reflect elite views and priorities and marginalize views outside the range of elite opinion. Consequently, it is expected that the media will tend to support the elite’s preferred modes of exercising state power in international affairs. This often entails demonizing official enemies of the United States in order to justify military interventions while downplaying the crimes of the United States and its allies. To see how well these expectations are borne out in recent times, I apply discourse and content analysis to a sample of the New York Times’ coverage of Libya in the weeks preceding the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya. Three research expectations are presented: Coverage will mirror the U.S. government story line, conforming to the tenets of American exceptionalism; Muammar Gaddafi will be demonized, the nature and extent of his crimes will be exaggerated; Gaddafi’s victims will receive extensive, sympathetic coverage, while black Libyan victims of the anti-Gaddafi opposition will be marginalized. The analysis of New York Times articles on Libya from February 15 to March 19, 2011, shows that the research expectations are met, providing empirical support for the propaganda model. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As a thesis is completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements of a Master’s degree, I will take the liberty of acknowledging those who not only assisted me with the work at hand, but also those who have been an important part of my life as I completed my first graduate degree. First and foremost are my parents, Joyce and Mike LaPrairie, without whose love and support nothing I have ever done would have been possible. I thank my all-star thesis committee, Dr. Gregory Howard, Dr. Barry Goetz, and Dr. Ronald Kramer, whose combined expertise was an excellent match for this project. I thank especially the committee chair and my advisor, Dr. Howard, for his guidance and camaraderie. I am also grateful to Dr. Slava Karpov for many hours of enlightening and sometimes challenging conversation about society, history, and politics. I am grateful to Edward S. Herman for recommending to me Forte’s Slouching Towards Sirte, and replying to the email of a nerdy fan. Dr. Anna Popkova I thank for taking an interest in this project and reviewing the proposal. Of course, I must thank Dr. Sarika Chandra for her lasting friendship and encouragement; were it not for her, I may not have pursued graduate studies and written this thesis. Thank you to Dr. Doug Davidson, who took me under his wing as a teaching assistant for two semesters. I would also like to thank the good people of the Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents of War (KNOW)—especially Karen Chadwick, Daniel Smith, and Harold Beu—for arranging a public event for me to present the material that became the chapter on Libya. Other friends and colleagues who have been especially supportive— whether they know it or not—include Zach Oaster, Kristen Witzel, Santiago, Shadia and Azzam ii Acknowledgements—Continued Kanaan, Zara Hayat, and last but certainly not least, Gislene, who has put up with my shenanigans. Randy LaPrairie iii © 2017 Randy LaPrairie TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ ii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................2 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ON THE HERMAN-CHOMSKY PROPAGANDA MODEL AND MAJOR COMPETING THEORIES ............................................................5 News Media Theory ....................................................................................................7 The Propaganda Model and Its Critics......................................................................15 Supporting Literature on the Propaganda Model ......................................................21 The Propaganda Model .............................................................................................28 Size, Ownership, and Profit Orientation of the Mass Media ...........................30 Dependence on Advertising Revenue or the Advertising License to Do Business ...........................................................................................................33 Dependence on Official Sources ......................................................................34 Flak ..................................................................................................................36 Dominant Ideology ..........................................................................................38 The Predictions of the Propaganda Model and Manufacturing Consent ..................40 Conclusions ...............................................................................................................43 3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH EXPECTATIONS ....................................45 4. METHOD AND RESEARCH DESIGN ..............................................................................49 iv Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER Critical Discourse Analysis and Content Analysis ...................................................49 Overview of the Research Design .............................................................................53 Conceptualization, Operationalization, and Coding .................................................58 Treatment of Politically Salient Topics ...........................................................61 Worthy and Unworthy Victims ........................................................................62 Limits of Foreign Policy Criticism ..................................................................62 Validity, Reliability, and Generalizability ................................................................64 Strengths, Weaknesses, and Limitations of the Design ............................................66 5. THE NEW YORK TIMES’ COVERAGE OF THE 2011 NATO INTERVENTION IN LIBYA ............................................................................................................................69 IN LIBYA Introduction ...............................................................................................................69 Historical Background: Libya-U.S. Relations, 1969-2011 .......................................70 The Events Precipitating the 2011 NATO Intervention ...........................................77 The New York Times’ Coverage of Libya: February 15 through March 19, 2011 ...86 Summary of the Coverage: Topics Included and Excluded.............................86 Worthy and Unworthy Victims in Libya .........................................................94 The Range of Debate .......................................................................................98 Letters to the Editors, Opinion-Editorials, and Editorials..............................103 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................105 6. CONCLUSIONS ..............................................................................................................108 The Case of Libya and the Propaganda Model: Discussion ...................................108 v Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER The Five Filters ..............................................................................................112 The Standard Model of the Media and the Communication Theory of Power: Alternative Explanations? ......................................................................115 Suggestions for Further Research ...........................................................................118 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................121 A. Authoritative Sources