Edward S. Herman

Edward S. Herman was an American economist, media analyst, and professor known for his critical work on the political economy of mass media. He is best known for co-developing the propaganda model of media criticism with linguist Noam Chomsky, a theory detailed in their seminal 1988 book Manufacturing Consent. His career was defined by rigorous critiques of corporate power, United States foreign policy, and the structural biases of mainstream journalism.

Early life and education

He was born in Philadelphia and served in the United States Army during World War II. After the war, he pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He later attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he received both a Master of Business Administration and a Doctor of Philosophy in economics, completing his doctoral studies in 1953.

Academic career

He spent the majority of his academic career as a professor of finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught for over four decades. His scholarly work often intersected with his media criticism, focusing on the connections between financial institutions, corporate structures, and political power. He was a prolific writer, contributing to various left-wing publications and engaging in debates within the field of political economy.

Propaganda model

His most influential contribution was the development, with Noam Chomsky, of the propaganda model as presented in their book Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. The model argues that systemic biases in mass media are not the result of overt conspiracy but of market forces and institutional filters, including media ownership, advertising revenue, sourcing from elite institutions, and an overarching anti-communist ideology. He applied this framework to analyze media coverage of events like the Vietnam War, conflicts in Central America, and U.S. support for regimes such as the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and the Contras in Nicaragua.

Political and economic views

A staunch critic of imperialism and neoliberalism, his views were rooted in a Marxist analysis of capitalism and class conflict. He was highly critical of U.S. interventions in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, and East Timor, arguing that media coverage systematically minimized the suffering caused by U.S.-allied forces. He also authored works challenging mainstream narratives on topics ranging from the September 11 attacks to the Srebrenica massacre, positions that placed him at the center of significant academic and political controversy.

Selected works

* Corporate Control, Corporate Power (1981) * The Real Terror Network: Terrorism in Fact and Propaganda (1982) * Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (with Noam Chomsky, 1988) * The Politics of Genocide (with David Peterson, 2010) * He was also a frequent contributor to publications like Z Magazine and Monthly Review.

Category:American economists Category:American media critics Category:1925 births Category:2017 deaths