(Cross-posted from www.ridiculousapocalypse.com)
Information, and those who control it, is a major form of political control, and essential to the creation of “empire.” Newspaper magnate and propagandist William Hearst is a perfect and perfectly terrifyng example of this. Compared to the complete and utter propaganda printed by his papers and other media, modern day news doesn’t look quite as bad. Of particular interest to me is the page of an article taken from a Hearst publication titled, “The Greater United States” (226). It is subtitled with the text, “If Mexico is annexed we will have 31 new states and territories, 15,000,000 new Americans and 767,290 square miles of picturesque, historic and rich lumber, agricultural and mineral lands.” This is one of countless such articles which Hearst used to push his agenda of Manifest Destiny and the conquest of Latin America, particularly Mexico.
The images used in this article are of particular note. The map of the US, which shows Mexico as the darkened western area, includes the vast amount of territory won in the Mexican American war some seventy years previous. By making it seem like this territory, which at the time of publication (1916) is at stake, perhaps the editors hope to further sway the public. It is also effective as a conflation of old territory and new territory, saying perhaps, “Yes, California and Texas are great, but look what we could have if he had it all.” It is also worth noting that in the original Mex/US war the US took away over 55% of the country’s territory. But people like Hearst were still not happy.
Also included in the article are three photos of ancient Aztec architectural achievements. These seem to be a nod to a civilization long gone, possibly like the Orientalist European fascination with Sanscrit. Juxtaposed with the fourth image, a picture of a tiny decrepit hut captioned with the text “A typical scene…” Hearst’s paper seems to be saying, “look at what they used to be, oh well, let’s move in and take over.”
Question: How does Hearst’s gross manipulation of the media compare with modern media conglomerate leaders such as Rupert Murdoch? Have we really progressed that far since Hearst’s time?
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2 comments:
Eli...this is a nice reading of the ad's "strategies". Amazing how the imperialist project and destruction can be spun and couched as exciting and good-for-us. On the inclusion of the images of ancient structures, I thought there might be a connection to the headlines, which proclaim "picturesque, historic, and rich lumber, agricultural and mineral lands" -- so Hearst doesn't appear to be anti-ancient. Instead, the ad proposes that expansion would respect the ancient and honor it as "picturesque and rich"!
I also asked a similar question last week, but it was about the propaganda and the power of persuasion in "Overland Monthly". Honestly, I really don't think America has changed much from Hearst's time in terms of media manipulation. However, I think that today, it is not just one person controlling and monopolizing over media, so people may hold each other more accountable for the power they have. I also believe that tactics of manipulation and propaganda have changed, but they are even more prevalent. In papers like "Overland Monthly" ads and articles blatantly propagandized and voiced strong opinions, but I think today's journalists and advertisers are even more dangerous because they are much more covert and sly about how they send their message.
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