Prophet, Gadfly, Polemicist, Conscience of America? The US press versus Noam Chomsky

As a contribution to the scholarship on the US media's reporting of dissidence, this article assesses the treatment of Noam Chomsky's books on politics and media in four US newspapers. It documents and explains the fluctuations in attention over time. A content analysis shows that a sizeable majority of reviews were negative, but also that the press reception was quite varied. A qualitative assessment demonstrates that reviewers largely failed to provide substantive counterarguments to Chomsky's research and frequently praised it. The article discusses the newspapers’ weak and surprisingly positive reactions to Chomsky's media criticism. Then it draws parallels between the criticisms and marginalization of Chomsky in the press and academia, and highlights the evidence that confirms his analyses.