A couple of weeks ago, the University of Windsor hosted a conference that arguably was history in the making. But before this starts to sound like hype, let me continue.
The goal of ‘20 Years of Propaganda?’ was to critically examine the current relevance and role of the propaganda model twenty years after the publication of Manufacturing Consent. The event congregated the likes of media scholars, journalists, independent media reps and librarians from the US, Canada and Europe. Amongst a gaggle of speakers, Chomsky and Herman provided a (fairly delightful at times) plenary session, and on the final day Chomsky gave a public lecture to an audience of about 1000 people to round out the conference. Overall the event was interesting and galvanizing, if somewhat lacking in the new information and critical debate department. In the end, there was a final session to discuss launching/coordinating a media reform movement in Canada.
Things got particularly interesting from the librarian point of view at the public lecture. From the balcony arose the question (and I’m paraphrasing … those in attendance please correct me if I’m wrong).
What significance do libraries and librarians have in relation to the propaganda model?
Chomsky’s response gave kudos to American librarians for refusing to comply with the Patriot Act … especially since they weren’t known for being a ‘radical’ bunch (ha ha). And that was it, save for the nod for being helpful and keeping the Interlibrary Loan service trucking along.
Chomsky reportedly answers all of his email messages. On the way out of the auditorium, a fellow librarian recalled Naomi Klein’s view of the radical nature of librarianship. I’m thinking maybe Chomsky would like to have a look.
Because as you all know, we are more than helpful. We are a force.
-PC-