Faculty of Arts

Department of Language, Literature

and Cultural Studies

NAME: TAURAI .O CHINYANGA

LEVEL: 2:2

REG NUMBER: R092064y

MODULE: BAEH 212: THEORIES OF MASS COMMUNICATION

LECTURER: DR JAKAZA

ASSIGNMENT QUESTION: Evaluate the assertion that media’s

influence on people’s behaviour is limited by opinion leaders.
Opinion leaders are more precisely opinion brokers who carry information across the

social boundaries between groups. They are not people at the top of things so much as

people at the edge of things, not leaders within groups so much as brokers between

groups.

According to Robinson (1976) the opinion leader acts as the agent who is an active

media user, and who interprets the meaning of media messages or content for ordinary

media users he or she holds a high reputation among those that accept his or her

opinions or interpretation. Katz outlines three aspects of opinion leadership. The first

is the personification of his/her values (who one is), the second is his/her competence

(what one knows), and the third is his/her reputation based on networking (who one

knows).

According to Katz, their role and influence on the audience has much more

significance than that of the media. What Katz and Lazarsfeld also emphasize is the

fact that opinion leaders are an integral part of the give and take of everyday personal

relationships and, therefore, their opinion is highly respected within the self group.

Katz and Lazarsfeld (1955) are of the view that opinion leaders are termed as people

who are more influential within their social networks than others. They consider

themselves experts in a specific area of interest (e. g. home policy or fashion) and are

asked for advice in this area.

Opinion leaders select information in these areas and then pass it on to others. In the

process of reporting to others they more or less consciously modify the information
they transmit. Katz and Lazarsfeld (1955) posit that ideas often flow from radio and

print to the opinion leaders and from them to the less active sections of the population.

The assertion that the media’s influence is limited by opinion leaders is true to a larger

extent because without opinion leaders the media’s agenda, purpose and message

cannot be articulated sufficiently. The opinion leaders impact on messages constructed

by the media positively or negatively.

Influences stemming from the mass media first reach opinion leaders who, in turn,

pass on what they read and hear to those of their every-day associates for whom they

are influential. This hypothesis is the the two-step flow of communication.

For example prominent musician Suluman chimbetu of Dendera ocheresta music has

divided opinion among the people of Zimbabwe when he was recently seen

supporting MDC movement for democratic change parliamentarians upon which they

where launching development programs in their local districts. A photo circulated

that showed him captioned with MDC members of parliament. Chimbetu is known for

being a ZANU PF supporter with the history of his father Simon who rose to

prominance by singing liberation war songs. Thus Suluman as a person who is viewed

as an opinion leader his decision and action to support the opposition raises questions

and divides opinion. The media by using Suluman’s stance sway behaviour and

attitude raising the question to support the ruling party or the opposition.

Opinion leaders are key in impacting people’s behaviour the media is aware of this

and they target and select who are viewed by the populace as influential. Some

individuals are aware that they are seen as opinionated and others are not, those who
aware tred carefully and position themselves in key areas where they impact

positively or negatively. The two step theory is about interpersonal communication

the media using the opinion leaders to reach the mass to impact their behaviour.

For instance Jah prazyah can choose not to promote a certain brand because of his

perception or attitude towards a brand the brand in question might be a major

shareholder in the media company. The brand might want to promote gay rights then

another individual who is not so prominent wants to do so the idea of promotion of

such rights can have a impact negatively or positively towards people’s behaviour.

This dependant on whom the media takes on to push their agenda. Jah prazyah has

influence and brands want to be associated with him. The ideology of the media

house or agenda on the topic can be limited by the opinion leader.

Another example is Pastor Passion Java who is as viewed a opinion leader. He has a

huge following on social media sites such as instagram, whatsapp and facebook

whatever he posts or promotes greatly impact and infuence people’s behaviour in the

streets, at home and schooling it is just ‘Twabaam’ recently the man of cloth has been

seen with the Honorable President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Comrade E.D

Munangagwa endorsing his National Develepment Stragety and his vision 2023 for

the nation of Zimbabwe. In doing so the populace by seeing such a prominent figure

supporting the President’s ideas and plans are thus inclined to do so as well. The

media transmits these stories and messages to the mass in turn their behaviour is

impacted negatively or positively.

If no opinion leaders are seen endorsing certain ideas and concepts the media’s

framing agenda and prime news is derailed these opinion leaders greatly impact

people’s behaviour without them the media’s influence on the people is limited.

Katz and Lazerfield on the hypothesis posit that it was a healthy sign, they felt, that

people were still most successfully persuaded by give and take with other people and

that the influence of the mass media was less automatic and less potent than had been

assumed. For social theory, and for the design of communications research, the

hypothesis suggested that the image of modern urban society needed revision. The

image of the audience as a mass of disconnected individuals hooked up to the media

but not to each other could not be reconciled with the idea of a two-step flow of

communication implying, as it did, networks of interconnected individuals through

which mass communications are channeled.

The flow of personal influence is greatly considered by the media. The Decatur study

went on to explore the relative personal influences and the mass media in three other

realms: fashions and movie-going. Basing its conclusions on the testimony of the

decision-makers themselves, and using an instrument for evaluating the relative

effectiveness of the various media which entered into the decisions, the Decatur study

again found that personal influence figured both more frequently and more effectively

than any of the mass media.

On the other hand media’s influence on people’s behaviour is not so much limited by

opinion leaders. The two step flow hypothesis has its shortfalls According to Westley

(1971) the two step flow model ignores evidence of direct flow. Several studies
indicate that major news stories are spread directly by the mass media to a far greater

extent than by personal sources.

In addition Rogers (1962) acertains that it ignores the existence of different stages in

the diffusion process, namely, the stages of awareness, interest, evaluation trial, and

adoption. In each of these stages, different sources and personal ties may be activated.

Furthermore Troldahli and Van Dam (1965) posit that there is ignorance of the

existence of a horizontal flow, the process of "opinion sharing" rather than "opinion

giving" .Robinson (1976) argues that the assumption of vertical flow underlying the

Two-Step model implies that opinion leaders rely on the mass media only, thus

ignoring the possible existence of other sources and directions of communication

flow.

Lin (1971: 203) is of the view that it ignores the possibility of a continuum instead of

a crude dichotomy between opinion leaders and nonleaders, while in the flow of

interpersonal communication various network positions may be activated.

In conclusion the main emphasis of the two-step flow hypothesis appears to be on

only one aspect of interpersonal relations interpersonal relations as channels of

communication. The media uses opinion leaders to drive across certain agendas,

ideologies and thought patterns that infuence people’s behaviour.

REFERENCE LIST

Barnett, Homer G. (1953) Innovation The Basis of Cultural Change. New York:

McGraw-Hill.

Katz, Elihu (1957) The two-step flow of communication: an up to date report on an

hypothesis. Public Opinion Quarterly 21:67-78. (1980) On conceptualizing media

effects. Studies in Communication 1:119-41.

Katz, Elihu and P.F. Lazarsfeld (1955) Personal Influence. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.

Lazarsfeld P.F., Bernard Berelson and Hazel Gaudet (1948) The People's Choice.

New York: Columbia University Press.

Lin N (1971) The Study of Human Communications. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.

Rogers, Everett and Lawrence D. Kincaid (1981) Communication Networks. New

York: Free Press.

Troldahl, Verlig and Robert Van Dam (1965) "Face-to-face communication about

major topics in the news." Public Opinion Quarterly 29:626-34.