Not what to think! What to

think about

Agenda Setting Theory

Selective Selective ExposureExposure

Agenda Agenda SettingSetting

PositioPositionn LengthLength

Testing the Theory

Criteria Criteria for for

ProminenProminencece

What Causes What?

MediaMediaPublic Public

Ordering Ordering of of

PrioritiesPriorities

Agenda Agenda Setting Setting

FunctionFunction

Correlation

Who is Most Affected?

High High Need for Need for OrientatiOrientati

onon

High High Index for Index for CuriosityCuriosity

SusceptibSusceptibilityility

FraminFramingg

2 Levels of Agenda Setting

Agenda SettingAgenda Setting

ImagesImages

AttributesAttributes

Behavioral Effects

Public Public OpinionOpinion

BehaviouBehaviourr

Media Media AgendaAgenda

Who Sets the Agenda?

PR ProsPR Pros

InterestInterestAggregatAggregat

ionion

CandidCandidatesates

EditorsEditors

News Doesn’t Set ItselfNews Doesn’t Set Itself

Will New Media Still Shape Agenda?

Ethical Reflections

Clifford Christians believes that discovering the truth is still possible if we are willing to examine the nature of our humanity.

His communitarian ethics establish civic transformation rather than objective information as the primary goal of the press.

He insists that media criticism must be willing to reestablish the idea of moral right and wrong.

Journalists have a social responsibility to promote the sacredness of life.

Critiques

Predicts that the public’s agenda for the salience of attitude objects and key attributes will follow the media’s lead

Explains why some people are more susceptible to media influence than others

Testable by using content analysis to establish media agenda, surveys to determine public opinion

Practical Utility as it tells media, candidates how to alter the pictures in the heads of the audience.

Recap

The media tell us (1) what to think about, and (2) how to think about it.

The first process agenda setting transfers the salience of items on their news agenda to our agenda.

The second process framing transfers the salience of selected attributes to prominence among the pictures in our heads.