"The question is whether privileged élites should dominate mass-communication, and should use this power as they tell us they must, namely, to impose necessary illusions, manipulate and deceive the stupid majority, and remove them from the public arena."
Noam Chomsky
Here is a list of "10 strategies of manipulation" by the media:
1 - A STRATEGY OF DISTRACTION.
The key element of social control is the strategy of distraction that is to divert public attention from important issues and changes decided by political and economic elites, through the technique of flood or flooding continuous distractions and insignificant information. The strategy of distraction is also essential to keep the public interested in the essential knowledge in science, economics, psychology, neurobiology, and cybernetics. "Keep the public's attention distracted away from the real social problems, captivated by issues of no importance. Keep the public busy, busy, busy, no time to think, back to the farm and other animals (citing text 'silent weapons for quiet wars). "