3.0
AGENDA SETTING THEORY. 3.1
Definition of agenda setting theory.
“The AgendaAgenda-Setting Theory says the media (mainly the news media) aren‟t always successful at telling us what to think, but they are quite successful at 1
telling us what to think about.” Maxwell McCombs and Donald L. Shaw, 1972.
McCombs and Shaw do not say that simple agreement with the media changed voting behavior. They simply demonstrated that the media can set the agenda for what we talk and think about. Media agenda setting theory posits a relationship between the relative emphasis given by the media to various topics and the degree of salience these topics have for the general public (Ader 1995:300). Peoples or readers will be influenced from the topic that been set up by the media. Media will affect every topic of conversation in a society with a foundation or conversation topic for their discussion. Bernard Cohen noted that although the media can‟t tell people what to think, they 2
are stunningly successful in telling them what to think about. Media always have something to bring us into a conversation. Day by day, there will always some topics or agenda that been persuade by media to the public and it is going well in penetrating people‟s minds. According to Public Relations Strategy by Sandra Oliver, Agenda Setting Theory suggests that media content that people read, see, and listen to sets the agenda for society‟s discussion and interaction.
1
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Donald E. Shaw and Maxwell E. McCombs, The Emergence of American Political Issues: The Agenda Setting Function of the Press (St. Paul, MN: West, 1977). 2 Bernard C. Cohen, The Press and Foreign Policy (Princeton, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1963). 3 Oliver S, Public Relations Strategy (Kogan Page Ltd, NY 2001)
Agenda-setting theory of media effects is indebted to this research tradition for its starting point: an initial focus on people‟s needs. Much research testing of the theory has focused on the citizen‟s need for orientation during a political campaign. But the theory itself is designedly open to other personal and social needs of the individual that could signal the appearance of the agenda-setting phenomenon. That is to say, agenda-setting researchers recognize that psychological and social attributes of voters determine their political use of the media. Such use in turn is expected to lead to the appearance of the agenda-setting effect regarding political issues. But not just any of the myriad human traits, psychological or social, are expected to set off the agenda-setting process. These antecedent factors are most likely to be found among the various gratifications sought from the print and broadcast media, among the ideology uses people make of these media, and among the human needs satisfied by individual experience with the media. It can be summarize that agenda setting theory is the concept on how media penetrate the society minds based on their topics or ideas. They trigger our mind to think and relating all those ideas and topics that they provide to make up some issues. 3.2
Levels of agenda setting theory 3.2.1
First Level:
McCombs et al. (1998) demonstrated that agenda-setting research at the second level deals with the influence of „attribute‟ salience, whereas the first level agenda-setting illustrates the influence of „issue‟ salience.
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Balmas and Sheafer (2010) argued that the focus at the first level agendasetting which emphasizes media‟s role in telling us “what to think about”
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McCombs, M. E.; Llamas, J. P., Lopez-Excobar, E ., & Rey, F. (1998). "Candidate's images in Spanish elections: Second-level agenda-setting effects". Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 74 (4): 703-717.
is shifted to media‟s function of telling us “how to think about” at the 5
second level agenda-setting.
Mostly studied by researchers, media uses objects or issues to influence the people what people should think about. The researches set the global think on certain issues. For example, about the Iraq‟s war. Those Western media reports to the world about the violence committed by the people there, the rebellion was going on and the war broke out. However, they rarely report on violence committed by the united states, the atrocities committed there, and repression against the people of iraq. Media trying to pervert thought that people think that the iraq war guilt on himself. 3.2.2
Second level:
Media focuses on the characters of issues how people should think about. 6
How would people interpret the idea and digest it.
Agenda setting theory used in political advertisement, campaigns, business, news, and public relations. The main concept associated with the agenda setting theory is gate keeping. Gate keeping controls over the selection of content discussed in the media. Public cares mostly about the product of a media gate keeping. It is especially editors media itself is a gatekeeper. News media decides „what‟
events
to
admit
through
media
„gates‟
on
ground
of
„newsworthiness‟.
5
Balmas, M; Sheafer, T (June 2010). "Candidate Image in Election Campaigns: Attribute Agenda Setting, Affective Priming, and Voting Intentions". International journal of public opinion research 22 (2): 204-229. 6 http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Levels%20of%20theories/macro/Agenda-setting%20theory.doc/
For example: News comes from various sources, editors choose what should appear and what should not that is why they are called as gatekeepers. Some news are not essential to be published to the society as maybe contains some information that restricted by the government o r etc. 3.2.3
Priming
Activity of the media in proposing the values and standards by which objects of the media attention can be judged. Media‟s content will provide a lot of time and space to certain issues, making it more vivid. To say in simple words, Media is giving utmost importance to a news so that it gives people the impression that is the most important information. This is done every day the particular news is carried as a heading or covered everyday for months. Headlines, Special news features, discussions, expert opinions are used. Media primes news by repeating the news and giving it more importance E.g. Nuclear deal, cancer awareness, war and etc. 2.2.4
Framing
Framing is a process of selective control. Two Meanings
Way in which news content is typically shaped and contextualized within same frame of reference.
Audience adopts the frames of reference and to see the world in a similar way. It is how people attach importance to news and perceive it context within which an issue is viewed.
Framing talks about how people attach importance to certain news for example in case of attack, defeat, win and loss, how the media frames the 7
news such that people perceive it in a different way.
We can take India and Pakistan war for example; same happening is framed in different ways in both the countries. Every media in both countries tends to penetrate their citizen itself by setting the topic and agenda that will reflect their country in the right side of the war. So, on which media you view your perception will difference your own perception.
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http://communicationtheory.org/agenda-setting-theory/
