Summarization of Chapter 11

Summarization of Chapter 11: Agenda Setting
In the article entitled “Agenda Setting” from the book “Communication Theories
Origins, Methods and uses in Mass Media” written by the authors “Werner J. Severin and James
W. Tankard”. The author’s attitude is objective as he is not influenced by personal feelings or
opinions in considering and representing facts. In basic terms, an agenda is a list of tasks in
which the most essential things listed first and in order of priority. The way news stories are
presented and how they impact the public’s perception are both shaped by the media, is known
as the agenda setting function. People in America are concerned about the country’s drug issue.
The proportion of people who are admitted have been using banned drugs has also considerably
reduced. Newspaper articles regarding drugs have increased since the federal government
announced its war on drugs during that time. The concept of agenda-setting may help to explain
why people are more likely to view drug addiction as the most critical topic facing the country.
The findings of the first in-depth examination into the agenda-setting idea were reported
by McCombs and Shaw in 1972. They concentrated on how the media influenced public opinion
on political problems and defined the agenda of each political campaign. The study was targeting
people who are considered voters that are not sure of their decision during the presidential
elections, there were errors observed in the study. Even though teaching the world what to think
is not always effective, telling people what to think is a very powerful strategy. In response to
researcher’s discomfort with the leading logical perspective in mass communication studies, the
agenda setting hypothesis was developed. Researchers also started to wonder if their efforts to
find effects had been useless. The media had essentially no impact on this topic, that had been
the emphasis of communication research for decades, according to numerous studies, it’s likely
that the researcher’s chose emphasis that was incorrect.

Media agenda and reality are opposing relationship as media does not always rank
stories based on how the audience are affected in life. It occasionally fails to take into account
some stories with genuine audience impact. According to a study done by G. Ray Funkhouser in
1960, it was aiming to show the relation between news coverage and public opinion of the
essential topics. The study’s results showed a strong correlation between public perceptions of a
topic’s importance and the amount of media coverage it receives, but from another angle, it
looked that the issue’s actuality was not adequately reflected by the media’s coverage.
After McComb and Shaw suggested a second survey during the 1972 presidential
election campaign, the charlotte study was conducted. The researchers focused at several
different aspects of the campaign rather than just one. They complied lists of pressing issues for
the public and the media in June and October.
The process through which the media emphasis certain issues while neglecting others is
known as priming. The terms “Issue Obtrusiveness” and “Issue Abstractness” are distinct. Think
off abstractness as how challenging it is to comprehend or solve a problem. It's possible that the
media has little impact on how people feel about intangible matters. Because certain extremely
significant public issues may be highly abstract, this may be a very crucial factor to take into
account when studying the effects of the media.
There are various elements that impacts the media agenda. To start with, intermedia
agenda setting it occurs when privileged media set the agenda for other media. For example, all
other American media feel obligated to report on a topic if the New York Times does. Secondly
to mention, Influences from individual media workers which is anyone who works in the media
decides whether or not to cover a story based on the behavior and attitudes, personal and
professional background, and education. Moreover, media routines is one of the factors affecting
the media agenda which is characterized in deadlines, time restrictions, and depending on
credible resources.
Many media companies have specific goals such as generating revenue, which
unquestionably affect the content. Additionally, outside media institutions like the government
and pressure groups have an influence. Last but not least, society ideology is a social idea that
influences the content of the media. The US media landscape will be influenced by its citizen’s
beliefs in capitalism and democracy.
In conclusion, there is evidence that the media affects how people see the most
important societal concerns, and that the issues that are featured might not actually be the most
important ones.

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Summarization of Chapter 11: Agenda Setting

W. Tankard”. The author’s attitude is objective as he is not influenced by personal feelings or

that the researcher’s chose emphasis that was incorrect.

the public and the media in June and October.

account when studying the effects of the media.

beliefs in capitalism and democracy.

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