--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are other media too [the first…" description: "\"“There are other media too [the first being newspapers and control of information] whose basic social role is quite different. It’s diversion. There’s ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/noam-chomsky-42_ball-game_there-are-other-media-too-the-first-bein_2257749.jpg" --- # There are other media too \[the first being newspapers and… ![“There are other media too [the first being newspapers and control of information] whose basic social role is quite different. It’s diversion. There’s the real mass media, the kinds that are aimed at the guys who… Joe six-pack. That kind. The purpose of those media is just to dull people’s brain…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/noam-chomsky-42_ball-game_there-are-other-media-too-the-first-bein_2257749.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/noam-chomsky-42_ball-game_there-are-other-media-too-the-first-bein_2257749.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/noam-chomsky-42_ball-game_there-are-other-media-too-the-first-bein_2257749.jpg) > ““There are other media too \[the first being newspapers and control of information\] whose basic social role is quite different. It’s diversion. There’s the real mass media, the kinds that are aimed at the guys who… Joe six-pack. That kind. The purpose of those media is just to dull people’s brain. This is an over-simplification, but for the 80 per cent or whatever they are, the main thing for them is to divert them. To get them to watch National Football League, and to worry about the… you know… mother with child with six heads, or whatever the thing you pick up on the supermarket stands, and so on. Or, you know, look at astrology, or get involved in fundamentalist stuff, or something. Just get them away you know. Get them away from things that matter. And for that, it’s important to reduce their capacity to think. Sports. That’s another crucial example of the indoctrination system in my view. For one thing, because it offers people something to pay attention to that is of no importance. That keeps them from worrying about things that matter to their lives that they might have some idea about doing something about. And in fact, it’s striking to see the intelligence that’s used by ordinary people in sports. You listen to radio sations where people call in. They have the most exotic information and understanding of all kinds of arcane issues, and the press undoubtedly does a lot with this. I remember in high school I suddenly asked myself at one point: Why do I care if my high school team wins the football game? I mean, I don’t know anybody on the team, you know. \[…\] It doesn’t make any sense. But the point is, it does make sense. It’s a way of building up irrational attitudes of submission to authority. And, you know, group cohesion behind… you know, leadership elements. In fact, it’s training in irrational jingoism. That’s also a feature of competitive sports. I think, if you look closely at those things, typically, they do have functions, and that’s why energy is devoted to supporting them, and creating basis for them, and advertisers are willing to pay for them.”” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mass media often distracts with trivial content, dulling critical thought and diverting focus from important issues. **In simple terms:** Media distracts and dulls thinking. Key Takeaway Seek depth over diversion. Themes media influence distraction critical thinking Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - news consumption - sports fandom - social media - education Key Concepts propaganda cognitive load Questions to Reflect On - What media habits limit your thinking? - How can you prioritize meaningful content? A Different Perspective Not all media is harmful; some can inform and empower. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Competitive sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competitive-sports/) [Football game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football-game/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Mass media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-media/) [Things that matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-that-matter/) ## Related quotes > [“. . . irrational attitudes and discriminatory decisions, often made by governments or other official bodies acting out of ignorance or prejudice, have led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-trudgill/irrational-attitudes-and-discriminatory-decisions-often-made-by/) Peter Trudgill > [ These latter institutions \[the civil service, trade unions, media of all kinds\], notably of course television, but more subtly the written press, are quite… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/these-latter-institutions-the-civil-service-trade-unions-media-of-all/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [When I was in high school I asked myself at one point: "Why do I care if my high school's team wins the football…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/when-i-was-in-high-school-i-asked-myself-at-one-point-why-do-i-care/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Being involved in sports, you think less about how your body looks and more how it performs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-bleiler/being-involved-in-sports-you-think-less-about-how-your-body-looks-and/) [Gretchen Bleiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-bleiler/) > [I talk to people of different ages, and a guy who's 38 who says, 'I could've played Major League Baseball, but I had this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/i-talk-to-people-of-different-ages-and-a-guy-who-s-38-who-says-i/) [Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/) > [Football can stand parity better than any of the other sports, I think. 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You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. 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And after you've been a boy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-this-baseball-game-of-ours-comes-up-from-the-youth-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Trying to manage a project without project management is like trying to play a football game without a game plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trying-to-manage-a-project-without-project-management-is-like-trying/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We'll do anything it takes to win a basketball game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-lowry/we-ll-do-anything-it-takes-to-win-a-basketball-game/) [Kyle Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-lowry/) > [When I am working it is up early and coffee and 15 hours of being on the set. When I am not working, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-astin/when-i-am-working-it-is-up-early-and-coffee-and-15-hours-of-being-on/) [Mackenzie Astin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-astin/) > [Some coaches believed they could judge a player's performance simply by watching it. In this they were deeply mistaken. The naked eye was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/some-coaches-believed-they-could-judge-a-player-s-performance-simply/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) Browse all 849 Ball game quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There are other media too [the first being newspapers and control of information] whose basic social role is quite different. It’s diversion. There’s the real mass media, the kinds that are aimed at the guys who… Joe six-pack. That kind. The purpose of those media is just to dull people’s brain. This is an over-simplification, but for the 80 per cent or whatever they are, the main thing for them is to divert them. To get them to watch National Football League, and to worry about the… you know… mother with child with six heads, or whatever the thing you pick up on the supermarket stands, and so on. Or, you know, look at astrology, or get involved in fundamentalist stuff, or something. Just get them away you know. Get them away from things that matter. And for that, it’s important to reduce their capacity to think. Sports. That’s another crucial example of the indoctrination system in my view. For one thing, because it offers people something to pay attention to that is of no importance. That keeps them from worrying about things that matter to their lives that they might have some idea about doing something about. And in fact, it’s striking to see the intelligence that’s used by ordinary people in sports. You listen to radio sations where people call in. They have the most exotic information and understanding of all kinds of arcane issues, and the press undoubtedly does a lot with this. I remember in high school I suddenly asked myself at one point: Why do I care if my high school team wins the football game? I mean, I don’t know anybody on the team, you know. […] It doesn’t make any sense. But the point is, it does make sense. It’s a way of building up irrational attitudes of submission to authority. And, you know, group cohesion behind… you know, leadership elements. In fact, it’s training in irrational jingoism. That’s also a feature of competitive sports. I think, if you look closely at those things, typically, they do have functions, and that’s why energy is devoted to supporting them, and creating basis for them, and advertisers are willing to pay for them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-other-media-too-the-first-being-newspapers-and-control-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ball game" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-other-media-too-the-first-being-newspapers-and-control-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/noam-chomsky-42_ball-game_there-are-other-media-too-the-first-bein_2257749.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/noam-chomsky-42_ball-game_there-are-other-media-too-the-first-bein_2257749.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/823/noam-chomsky-42_ball-game_there-are-other-media-too-the-first-bein_2257749.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are other media too [the first being newspapers and control of information] whose basic social role is…” — Noam Chomsky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Noam Chomsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There are other media too [the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-other-media-too-the-first-being-newspapers-and-control-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-other-media-too-the-first-being-newspapers-and-control-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```