Agenda Setting

The idea or theory of Agenda-setting was first born in HPU's home state of North Carolina. College professors Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw first conceived this idea in 1968, during the presidential election, but later introduced in 1972. This idea was first research in 1968 when these two professors would survey NC voters about what they believed were important issues. What they found was that a lot of what people were saying was important, the media had reported about during that time. 
So what exactly is Agenda-setting theory?
In basic terms, Agenda-setting theory is the theory that the media picks and chooses what issues and everyday events should be the focus of the public's attention.  

This theory has two basic assumptions: 

1. The media filters and shapes what we see, rather than emulating stories to the audience. We can see an example of this today, with the Coronavirus pandemic. If you've been following along with the news, you'd notice that a majority of the news is about the virus, where the U.S. is at containing the spread and the number of cases there currently is. The media has set the virus as the public's main focus and concern. While yes it is an important issue we should stay on top of, there are other issues that are still ongoing that the media chooses not to write about. Did you know that the U.S. government might weaken and/or completely remove section 230, or the Communications Decency Act - which keeps online forums or sites as neutral to what others are posting? Did you know that there was a big meteor shower in April? And that scientists have discovered a new dinosaur, that is the size of a hummingbird? Probably not because the media has set our focus on COVID-19. 

2. The more attention the media gives to an issue, the more likely to public will consider it to be an important issue. Another coronavirus example would be that we are so focused on COVID-19 and its negative consequences and its high death rate, that we missed that 1 million people worldwide has recovered from it. 

The key to this theory is that it has a psychological factor to it. Just like a student learning in school, people tend to remember things when they see it repeatedly. When a story/issue/event is repeatedly reported about, the more likely the person who sees these reports will remember it. 

There are also three types of agenda setting - meaning, there are different agenda's the media is set. 
1. public agenda setting - here the public is setting the agenda on what is important 
2. media agenda setting - the media determines what is important and worth covering 
3. policy agenda setting - this one has some political influence, the media and the public agendas influence public policy makers 


sources: 
https://kslnewsradio.com/1921316/news-besides-covid-19/
https://online.alvernia.edu/articles/agenda-setting-theory/