When defining what is agenda setting, Bruce told us that like all good theories, it is obvious!
In my opinion, I believe that agenda setting is the process which certain issues are presented in the media, some more so than others to receive more important or less feedback.
There are several types of agenda setting.. These are as follows,
1. The public agenda- topics seen as important by the public
2. Policy agenda-issues that decision makers that are salient
3. Corporate agenda-issues that big businesses consider
important
4. Media agenda-issues discussed in the media
All of these types are interrelated!
We have to come to terms with the fact that in this day and age, the media shape the way we look at things or at issues, and they are able to tend
importance to certain media exposure on certain issues.
The two basic assumptions of media agenda settings are that the mass media do not merely reflect and report reality but they also filter
and shape reality.
Media concentration on a few issues leads public to perceive
those issues as more important than other issues, this is the main purpose of agenda setting and the essential definition.
On to the question of where did agenda setting actually come from?
A statement by Walter Lippmann which I liked was that mass media creates images of events in our
minds. I liked this because it resonated with me and I thought it really made sense and sums up photo-journalism.
Another quote by Lippmann is that, “propaganda is used as tool to help shape images in the minds
of human beings in support of enterprise, idea or group. Propaganda can be used
to substitute one social pattern for another”. Moreover, he argued that people rely on images in their mind to form judgement
rathe than critically think.
When asking why the media set agenda, the answer is simply, because they can!
1. media gatekeeping- how individuals control the flow of
messages through a communication channel, the exposure of an issue, what the
media chooses to reveal to the public. E.g rubert Murdoch
2. Media advocacy- the purposive promotion of a message e.g.
health through the media
3. Agenda cutting- most of the truth or reality that is going
on in the world isn’t represented, issues like AIDS take a backseat to Justin
Bieber’s new haircut, because aids doesn’t get as much time in the media, the
issue is cared about less
4. Agenda surfing or bandwagon effect- the media follows the
crowd and trends, the media surfs on the wave of topics originally mentioned in
the opinion leading media, bandwagon effects-how existing public opinion influences
others toward that opinion. E.g. kony 2012
5. The diffusion of news- the process through which an
important event is communicated to the public. How, where, when, news is
released. who decides? E.g. osama bin laden death
6. Portrayal of an issue- talk about different aspects of an
issue like aboriginal youth , depends on agenda – the way the issue is
portrayed will often influence how it is perceived by the public, different
media outlets with different portrayals can cause the public to formulate their
own perception
7. Media dependence- the more dependant a person is on the
media for information, the more susceptible that person is to media agenda
setting, the most common media dependency is Facebook/twitter. It has become a
way of life!
Another interesting fact about agenda setting is now there is new prime times rather than years ago the news was released early in the morning of one day and the next
edition doesn’t appear until 24 hours later. Now, there are 24/7 outlets constantly reporting, and it has been said that there are three prime times for news.. - first
thing in the morning- new primetime, traffic, accidents, lunch time, 12-2pm, and another 3pm- people have a coffee and biscuit and they check the news again.
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