In simpler terms, the mass media is "A simple flexible system of writing admits of adaptation to the vernacular but slowness of adaptation facilities monopolies of knowledge and hierarchies" (Innis 4). The mass media are intended to indoctrinate the public. The belief system of the media sustains a marginal public and at the same time diverts them in accordance to the agenda setters and the mass media; therefore it maintains a hierarchy and at the same time it dictates social control. Corporations know generally what kind of a status one holds when reading the agenda setters in comparison to the mass media; as such they sell their products through advertisements accordingly. This "filter" also postulates the political ties the media has with the government; "The media giants have a joint and close interest in favorable climate of investment in the Third World, and their interconnections and relationships with the government in these policies are symbiotic" (Chomsky 13-14). This is not only favorable to the "media giants" but also to the American government as it strengthens its global imperialism. .
The second filter process is headed under "advertising as the primary income source of the mass media" (Chomsky 2). Long before advertisement emerged, newspapers had to pay for their own business; for example, they had to pay for their features, format, style, and promotion. With the bombardment of advertisements, newspapers that incorporated ads from businesses were successful because their production costs were significantly lower than newspapers that were not ad-based. As a result, ad-free newspapers took a plunge in the media competition, or were marginalized to succumb to advertising agencies. Chomsky notes that today media is besieged by advertisements and as a result "an advertising-based media system will gradually increase advertising time and marginalize or eliminate altogether programming that has significant public-affairs content" (Chomsky 17).
