EOTO Terms and Concepts: Agenda Setting

Agenda Setting is a mass communication theory that asserts news media and outlets influence the public regarding issues deemed important. In a study found during the 1968 presidential election Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw concluded that media coverage held a strong factor in the opinions of the voters in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They also had similar findings in media coverage of the OJ Simpson trail and the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. 

There are two levels to Agenda Setting presented in the media.

The first level is the idea of how different media outlets use content to influence their audiences. Certain news establishments shape how people view current issues. For example, if a person receives news from more liberal media outlets such as CNN it can potentially influence what issues they receive compared to someone who receives the news from more conservative news outlets such as Fox News or unbiased news sites such as NPR. 

The second level of this theory involves the study of how the media presents issues. This analyzes the ways in which various media outlets such as CNN or Fox communicate the stories they share. An example of this is pulling up an article surrounding the issue of overturning Roe v. Wade. A more liberal channel would focus on the negative impacts regarding the effects of overturning Roe v Wade however, a more conservative outlet might focus on the positive idea of regarding returning more rights to the states with both sides tuning the other out. This allows for outlets to appeal to their audience more instead of focusing on delivering unbiased information. It creates a one-sided idea of heavily debated political issues. 

Within agenda setting there are different variations or types. These include Public, Media and Policy. 

Public agenda setting is the instance of the public determining the influence of a particular story. In society today, we can heavily see this on Tik Tok as the Israel/Palestine conflict continues to arise. Creators who have no influence in politics can be seen being speaking and debating on the topic, some even being pressured by people online to discuss their opinion on the topic. Platforms like this has become a growing battlefield for large issues to be widely spread quickly, even topics or events that large news outlets could potentially censor. 

Media agenda setting is the idea that the media determines the importance of stories. Over the past couple of years we've seen news outlets from both parties censor stories that they believe to not align with the agenda they set for their viewers.In this NBC article discussing Fox News during the January 6th riots  and the agenda set versus the agenda believed. While post hosts were over discussing Trump and the "Stop the Steal" narrative, they continued to amplify it up to the riots. While behind the scenes bashing Trump, they were on air singing him praises due to knowing the precedent they've built for their audience of the type of news they cover.  

Policy Agenda setting is when the public and the media influence the agenda of the policy makers. While not a set of political demands, they decision to include the agenda of the majority can make or break a politician's campaign.  While the policy will most likely interact with the what the candidate or policy makers believe, the level of importance raises depending of the agenda of the public and medias influence.