Agenda Setting Theory
Agenda setting theory was proposed by Maxwell McCombs and Donald L. Shaw. Media influence affects the order of presentation in news reports about news events, issues in the public mind. More importance to a news, more importance attributed by audience. The theory says what people should think about and how people should think about.
History and orientation
Agenda setting describes a very powerful influence of the media — the ability to tell us what issues are important. As far back as 1922, the newspaper columnist Walter Lippman was concerned that the media had the power to present images to the public. McCombs and Shaw investigated presidential campaigns in 1968, 1972 and 1976. In the research done in 1968 they focused on two elements: awareness and information. Investigating the agenda setting function of the mass media, they attempted to assess the relationship between what voters in one community said were important issues and the actual content of the media messages used during the campaign. McCombs and Shaw concluded that the mass media exerted a significant influence on what voters considered to be the major issues of the campaign.
Core assumptions and statements
Agenda setting is the creation of public awareness and concern of salient issues by the news media. Two basis assumptions underlie most research on agenda-setting, one is that the press and the media do not reflect reality, but filter and shape it; the other is that media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues.(https://www.daowen.com)
Bernard Cohen (1963) stated: “The press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about. ”
Priming
Objects of the media attention can be judged by activity of the media in proposing the values and standards. Media’s content will provide a lot of time and space to certain issues, making it more vivid. To say in simple words, media are giving utmost importance to a piece of news so that it gives people the impression that it is the most important information. This is done everyday: the particular news is carried as a heading or covered everyday for months. Headlines, special news features, discussions, expert opinions are used. Media primes a piece of news by repeating the news and giving it more importance, e. g. nuclear deal.
Criticism
Criticisms of agenda setting theory are that media users are not ideal, people may not pay attention to details, and that effect is weakened for people who have made up their mind. Media can’t create problems. They can only alter the awareness, priority, etc.
Words & Expressions
awareness：意识，认知
assumption：假设
priority：优先权