2021.4.27

      Today, Mr.Paterson taught us about Prop. Matrix also called as 5 filters. This theory is made by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman, the writer of "Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media". Manufacturing Consent includes Ownership, Advertising, Access, Flak, and ideology. Although the class was in lecture style, I could concentrate fully as there were relatable examples used for explanation.

     One of the shocking facts was that Japan's situation of Advertisement and Access is way worse than that in the US. For example, while 7 companies such as Adidas are owning a lot of media in the US (still problematic), only 6 companies are owning in Japan. That was the reason why we never get negative scandals of these companies. The scary thing is, I was constantly getting strong-biased information from these media and didn't even thought about sponsors. Moreover, Access is very limited in Japan, only Japanese journalists from big media can join Kisha Club and go to the conference when every professional are able to join in the US. The Japanese government is arranging Kisha Club. How can journalists ask fierce strong questions when there is the possibility of being removed?

     Conclusively, I noticed my ignorance of media and politics. I believe most young Japanese has the same level of understanding as I did. They must be more educated somehow.