Contrary to the usual image of the press as cantankerous, obstinate, and
ubiquitous in its search for truth, Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky depict how an
underlying elite consensus largely structures all facets of the news. They
skilfully dissect the way in which the marketplace and the economics of
publishing significantly shape the news. They reveal how issues are framed and
topics chosen, and contrast the double standards underlying accounts of free
elections, a free press, and governmental repression between Nicaragua and El
Salvador; between the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the American invasion
of Vietnam; between the genocide in Cambodia under a pro-American government and
genocide under