Lecture 10: A Hidden Agenda?

So what’s your agenda?

When looking at the theory of agenda settings from a journalism perspective there are four main types. Luckily for us, Bruce explained that the theory itself is fairly straight-forward and obvious.

The four agendas are:

1. Public Agenda - a set of topics that members of the public perceive as important
2. Policy Agenda - issues that decision makers think are salient (i.e. legislators)
3. Corporate Agenda - issues that big businesses and corporations consider important
4. Media Agenda - issues discussed in the media

Media agenda setting is defined as the process of the mass media presenting certain issues frequently and prominently with the result that larger segments of the public come to perceive those issues as more important than others. Simply put, the more coverage an issue receives, the more important it is to people.

But what does this mean? Well, we all have images in our head. When someone mentions a news story it seems that most people picture the same thing. Look at 9/11. Whenever it is brought up most people immediately have that shocking picture of the plane flying into the tower in their mind.

But why? It is simply because this picture was shown time and time again when the media reported on the tragedy. The media influenced how we saw the issue by the amount of exposure it received.

But showing a story in the news isn’t the only way the media can shape our opinion. The agenda setting ‘family’ explains different tools that can be used to manipulate the publics view.

Agenda Setting 'Family'

1.       Media Gatekeeping

·         the exposure of an issues

·         what the media chooses to reveal to the public

2.       Media Advocacy

·         the purposive promotion of a message through the media

3.       Agenda Cutting

·         most of the truth or reality that is going on in the world isn't represented

4.       Agenda Surfing/ "Bandwagon" Effect

·         the media follows the crowd and trends

·         "Bandwagon" effects: how the existing public opinion influences others towards that opinion

5.       Diffusion of News

·         the process through which an important event is communicated to the public

·         how, where, when news is released

·         Who decides?

6.       Portrayal of an Issue

·         the way an issue is portrayed will often influence how it is perceived by the public

7.       Media Dependence

·         the more dependent a person is on the media for information, the more susceptible that person is to media agenda setting

With all these hidden agendas of the media, the question for us, as the public, is how do we develop our own opinions on issues?

Till Next Time…