By law, television news must treat controversial subjects with due accuracy and impartiality. According to recent surveys, the majority of the population regard the television as their most trusted source of information, which makes it even more important that television remains impartial. There is ongoing controversy about the nature of television broadcasting and whether it is unbiased or falls victim to propaganda. In this essay I hope to discover which side has the stronger argument.
             Propaganda is the conscious manipulation of information in order to gain political advantage. Chomsky and Herman believe that the American news media function as "propaganda agencies" of what they call the 'national security state' (NSS). They say that ownership, advertising, dependence on official sources, 'flak' (propaganda campaigns, intimidation and use of the law) and 'anti-communism' serve to twist the facts in order to be conveyed in the interests of those in power. Historically, propaganda has been most obvious during times of war or national crisis when the government feels the need to control the media in order to get national unity. This normally results in alternative views not being shown on television as often if at all. This kind of control over news coverage was started after American support for the Vietnam War in the late 1960's was eroded by the media's close scrutiny and questioning of American aims and methods, contributing towards the country's eventual withdrawal from Vietnam. Two main examples of this are the Falklands war of 1982 and the Gulf war of 1991. The government exerted strict control over how the wars were reported. The reasoning at the time was that this was for military security, but it has been argued that the aim was to ensure that public support was not undermined by information, in particular pictures, revealing the less attractive aspects of ...