Agenda setting:

The impact of media is such powerful that has the ability to change and structure the thinking of
individuals. Mass media not only tells what to think but also mentally organize our world by
telling what to think about.

Mass communication plays an important role in informing public about current and past events.
Mass communication also works on public opinion. It is defined in Mass Media as the process in
which professional communicators use different ways and technological devices to present and
share messages over distances to influence audience.

In this process, media uses different techniques to have control over the information, audience
see or hear which includes newspaper, books, and television programs. For this purpose, media
uses agenda setting and gatekeeping to control access to news, information and entertainment
which may influence the public opinion.

Agenda setting plays an important role in defining how media affects its audiences. Agenda
setting is closely related with hypodermic needle theory as it describes that media has a very
powerful effect and the ability to tell what issues are important. Agenda setting actually
describes media may not exactly tell you what to think, but they may tell you what to think
about.

Background:

For the first time, in 1920, Lippmann used this function to define that the media has power to
present the news and information with pictures to influence the minds of audience because he
believed that the people believe and react according to the picture of reality they have in their
minds. Later on, McCombs and Shaw used this concept of agenda setting in their book
Emergence of American Political Issue. They defined this process related to the important role
of editors and broadcasters in presenting and publicizing news items.

McCombs and Shaw draw our attention towards this important concept by conducting study on
election campaign of Chapel Hills, North Carolina. They analyzed the election campaign in
1968, 1972 and 1976 in which they focused on awareness and information. In the campaign they
analyzed how media sets agenda according to its goals. Both researchers provided an empirical
support to the notion of Cohen that media tells what to think and what to think about. They
conducted a survey by selecting sample randomly and ask them to answer which issues they
considered are important. At the same time they analyzed the news media content as in
newspaper, television programs and magazines. After analyzing results they concluded that news
media priorities have influence on the audience and it becomes the public priorities. Studies
revealed that voters give importance to those issued which are highlighted by media and are
given more space or coverage.

Conceptual model:

Levels of media agenda:

There are two levels which help in building any agenda:

 The first level involves the subjects or issues which are most important.
 The second level includes the most important parts of issues, information or
subjects.

Any agenda is built following these two levels as they define the importance of event or issue
and also important parts of that issue.
Assumptions:

Agenda setting is an idea which describes that what should people think about is set by media.
This theory is basically relates with politics. It is stated, that the news plays an important role in
building and shaping the realities in minds of audiences. The space and time given to any issue
tells about its importance and also helps the audience to learn information conveyed in it.

Agenda setting theory works under these two assumptions:

1. Media and press present the reality after filter it out

2. People perceive those issues as more important to which media gives more coverage.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

Agenda setting theory is stated as media is so powerful and influence its audience heavily. It
introduced at the time when it is considered that media has a limited effect.

Strengths:
 This theory has ability to predict that people will give more importance to the same issues
if they exposed to the same media. It can explain why people with same media exposure
give the same importance to some issues.
 It also has the explanatory power as it explains why and how people select particular
information important and set their priorities.
 Agenda setting theory has the power of organizing the existing and new knowledge in the
heads of people which help them to recall information. It says that media organize
information in a way that people take some issues as important.
 This theory underlines the base for further researches, so it is called springboard.

Weaknesses:
 This theory assumes the ideal media consumers but it may not be in reality as every
individual different opinion and exposure.
 The theory defines the news frames which allow people to take issues as same but these
frames may have different meanings to individuals depend on their thinking. There is
inconsistency between conceptualizing and measuring frames in news and research.
  This theory has not successful in establishing the causal relationship between issues of
public and media coverage given to them.
 As this theory talk about sameness so it is applicable to only those people who have same
media exposure.

Agenda Building:
Evert Rogers and James Dearing believed that there are three types of agenda which helps media
in building any agenda. These agendas are public agenda, media agenda and policy agenda.
Agenda setting defines the relationship between the issues presented in media and the issues
priorities of public. While agenda building is associated with political scenario as it works to
formulate policies.

Public agenda means those issues which are important to public. Media agenda works on
highlighting certain issues to present them as more important than others. Policy agenda helps to
formulate policies regarding any issue.

Who sets Media Agenda?

It is stated that the public agenda has impact on media agenda. People decide which issues are
important to them and they tell their priorities to media through ratings, polling and surveys.
Some scholars also said that some politicians, public relations practitioners and bureaucrats also
play role in setting media agenda. Above stated agenda setters try to set the agenda which helps
the society in development. On the other hands hostile and those countries that have interest in
your country also sets the agenda to manipulate things. They buy media personals with money or
threaten them distract the public so that they talk about those issues they want but not real issues
of the country. They just give you a topic, artificial or less important problem to talk about no
matter what you think and talk about it positive or negative. They just need you to talk about it so
that they can pull off the light from your real issues. It is like a magician who wants you to see
where he wants so that he can trick you while you are looking at the wrong place. For instance in
Pakistan people less talk about electricity and gas issue than Imran khan’s divorce.
Orders of agenda setting:

The work done on agenda setting is divided into three orders:

1st Order: It includes the work done on original theoretical framework of agenda setting. It
includes the study of McCombs and Shaw related to Chapel Hill Presidential Election campaign.
2nd Order:In an attempt to construct a more wide-ranging theoretical model, Weaver, McCombs,
and Shaw (1998) recently suggested that two concepts or theory of framing and priming should
be viewed as natural extensions of agenda setting.

3rd Order: It includes the work on network agenda settings which describes three types of
agendas; public agenda, media agenda and policy agenda along with other factors which can
influence the function of agenda setting. It describes the relationship between these three
agendas.

Framing:

Framing is a concept that deeply related to the theory of agenda setting. Basically the framing
theory is that media have deep focus on certain events and then places these events within a field
of meaning. Simply, the framing theory suggests that how some new thing is presented to the
audience (called the Frame) and influences the choices of people make about how to process that
information. Frames are the abstraction that works to organize message meaning.

Framing is a process of selective control

Two Meanings
1. Way in which news content is typically shaped and contextualized within same frame of
reference.
2. Audience adopts the frames of reference and to see the world in a similar way. It is how
people attach importance to a news and perceive it context within which an issue is viewed.
Framing talks about how people attach importance to certain news for e.g. in case of attack,
defeat, win and loss, how the media frames the news such that people perceive it in a different
way.
We can take India and Pakistan war; same happening is framed in different ways in both the
countries. So depending on which media you view your perception will differ.

The framing theory was attributed to the work of Erving Goffman. The frames are used in terms
of the frame the media place on the information they convey or frame the news. By framing any
news event they are thought to influence the perception of the news by the audience. Media not
only tell the audience what to think about as explain by the agenda-setting theory, but also how
to think about that issue (second level agenda setting, framing theory).Framing technique defined
by Fairhurst and Sarr (1996) are:

 Metaphor: To frame any idea through the comparison to something else that is known or
interesting.
 Stories (legends, myths): To frame a topic in a strong narrative and memorable way.
 Tradition (ceremonies, rituals): To frame the topic by relating it to the relevant tradition.
 Jargon, Slogan and catchphrase: To frame an idea with most catchy phrase, sloga to
make it more memorable and make it relate-able.
 Contrast: To describe an idea in terms of what it is not.
 Spin: to present a topic in a ways as the topic to convey a value judgment  (negative or
positive)
Framing is conscious choice of journalists as in journalists perspective frame refers to the way in
which media as gatekeepers organize and present the events, objects, topics and ideas they cover.
Framing is the way of communication in which we constructs and defines any piece of
communicated information. Framing is an inevitable part of human communication; all the living
beings bring their own frames to their communications.
Priming:
Priming refers to enhancing the effects of the media by offering the audience a prior context – a
context that will be used to interpret subsequent communication. The media serve to provide the
audience with standards and frames of reference. Agenda-setting refers mainly to the importance
of an issue; priming tells us whether something is good or bad, whether it is communicated
effectively, etc. The media have primed the audience about what a news program looks like,
what a credible person looks like, etc.
Media creates an influence among people to make a decision or judgment. Priming is an
important concept in media effects. As the theory agenda setting brings out the importance of the
issue only but priming offers a deep explanation on how the information from the media are
stored in the mind of human and how it influences the audience in making decisions. By
motivating the thoughts of audience media affect the behavior and judgment that are deeply
caused due to the relationships of mind and created inside the memory. This theory was basically
put forward by Peters, Kender and Iyengar in 1982 and it’s labeled it as the priming effect.

While ignoring the others the media effects have impact on particular aspects. The importance
shown in the media about any issue becomes a major factor that helps in creating an impact in a
judgment of person. This can cause to less concern on the more important issue. For example,
the flashing news on the headline on a television or a report that is coming on the front page of
the newspaper are more likely to create a great impact than the less prominent news coming
subsequently.
Conclusion:

Agenda setting revolves around the basic concept of powerful media. As it focuses on the notion,
“what should think and what should think about.” This theory now provides the basis for other
researches not only related to the field of social sciences but also others. Agenda setting gives
power to media to establish what audiences will see or hear and to which parts more importance
will be given. Media uses Framing and Priming to filter the news and present some salience
issues and their parts more important than others and establishing thinking and attitudes of
people according to that.