One only needs to read the twisted works of Edward Bernays to understand how and WHY news media, advertising and 'public relations' operate the way they do. Sigmund Freud and Bernays discovered the way to manipulate people’s emotions to override logic. It is certainly part of a much, much larger social engineering agenda… Corporations and governments worldwide have been using the techniques ever since.
CRYSTALLIZING PUBLIC OPINION (1923)
Bernays was a nephew of Sigmund Freud and in recent years has come to be known as 'The Father of Spin'. In this very rare first edition copy Bernays "…tries to set down the broad principles that govern the new profession of public relations counsel… This profession in a few years has developed from the status of circus agent to what is obviously an important position in the conduct of the world's affairs."
Sections include: Scope and Functions; The Group and Herd; Technique and Method; Ethical Relations.
PROPAGANDA (1928)
The landmark work by the man who has come to be known as "The Father of Spin."
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, and our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of…. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind." - from page 9.
…“The invisible government tends to be concentrated in the hands of the few because of the expense of manipulating the social machinery which controls the opinions and habits of the masses. To advertise on a scale which will reach fifty million persons is expensive. To reach and persuade the group leaders who dictate the public's thoughts and actions is likewise expensive.
For this reason there is an increasing tendency to concentrate the functions of propaganda in the hands of the propaganda specialist. This specialist is more and more assuming a distinct place and function in our national life.”
Chapters include: Organizing Chaos; The New Propaganda; The New Propagandists; The Psychology of Public Relations; Business and the Public; Propaganda and Political Leadership; Women's Activities and Propaganda; Propaganda for Education; Propaganda in Social Services; Art and Science; The Mechanics of Propaganda.
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/12/consumer
https://theconversation.com/the-manipulation-of-the-american-mind-edward-bernays-and-the-birth-of-public-relations-44393
http://www.historyisaweapon.org/defcon1/bernprop.html