Mass Communication mediated

communication between a source and a

large audience
AGENDA SETTING THEORY
Agenda list of important things
Theorists: Maxwell McCombs
Donald Shaw

Process:
1. Selection what stories are chosen?
2. Emphasis what particular focus is
taken?
3. Elaboration what is added to beef
up the story?
4. Exclusion What stories are not
covered because of the selection,
emphasis and the elaboration of the
chosen stories?

- developed in a study on the 1968

presidential campaign (Chapel Hill Study)
- news media present audiences with an
agenda for what events should consider
as important

WHO SETS THE AGENDA?

ASSUMPTIONS:
1. News media have an agenda
2. Audience members come to rely on
news media to point out topics of
importance

Issues and Individuals Affected

PRIMARY CRITERIA:
1. Length
2. Position
TWO LEVELS OF AGENDA SETTING:
First level Media uses objects or
issues to influence people what to think
about

Media gatekeepers, candidates

themselves, public relations/interest groups,
compelling news events

1. Media are particularly effective in

creating public interest in political
issues and in chronic social issues
2. Need for orientation individuals
have differing needs for external
advice or direction
- depends on relevance and
level of uncertainty
Conclusion:

Second level - Media focuses on what

part of the subject is important
PROCESS OF AGENDA SETTING
1. importance of the issues that are
going to be discussed in the media
2. the public agenda
3. Public agenda influences the policy
agenda
FRAMING THE NEWS hypothesized that
the news medias success in telling viewers
and readers what to think about stems
from the medias ability to frame issues

The Agenda-Setting Theory states

that gatekeepers selectively
determine an agenda for whats
news.
Public opinions are inevitably
shaped and influenced
News media influence their
audiences to think about selected
issues in a certain light
References:
A First Look at Communication Theory by E
Griffin
Applying Communication Theory for
Professional Life by Dainton and Zelley

What constitute news?

Mass communication - mediated
communication between a source and a
large audience
Mass Media, Mass Culture as the process
whereby professional communicators use
technological devices to share messages
over great distances to influence large
audiences.
Theorists:

2. Audience members come to rely on

news media to point out topics of
importance most people would like
help when trying to to understand
and evaluate politics and political
reality, they need assistance
PRIMARY CRITERIA:
1. Length minutes were allotted, full
page
2. Position headline

TWO LEVELS OF AGENDA SETTING:

McCombs professor in the dept of

journalism at the university of texas

First level Media uses objects or

issues to influence people what to think
about

Shaw- professor in the school of journalism

at the university of north Carolina, chapel
hill

Second level - Media focuses on what

part of the subject is important

Theory was developed in a 1968

presidential campaign study in Chapel Hill.
Before the study, it was widely held that the
news media simply reflected the public
interests, covering important issues. The
people assumed that the news media
simply act as mirrors of public interest
news media as a reflection of the society
Argued that public opinion is shaped by the
media coverage

PROCESS OF AGENDA SETTING

(example: ONE DIRECTION MEMBERS
SMOKING WEED)
1. importance of the issues that are
going to be discussed in the media
2. the public agenda impact on what
the public thinks
3. Public agenda influences the policy
agenda

After the study: strong correlation between

the media agenda and the public agenda

FRAMING THE NEWS hypothesized that

the news medias success in telling viewers
and readers what to think about stems
from the medias ability to frame issues

THEORY: news media present audiences

with an agenda for what events should
consider as important

News media gatekeepers (editors etc)

select, emphasize elaborate, and even
exclude news stories or parts of the stories

ASSUMPTIONS:
1. News media have an agenda
news media tell audiences what
news are important, filter and
shape

Process: (EXAMPLE: VHONG NAVARRO

CASE)
TV Patrol and 24 Oras allotted a large
percentage of air time to the incident and as

a result failed to provide reports on key

issues and events that month; On February
6, ANC, ABS-CBN 2 news channel, and
GMA News TV cut their coverage of the
conference meetings in the Palace and in
the Senate on Yolanda and the peace
process, respectively, to do a live coverage
of Navarros filing of his Affidavit at the
Department of Justice.
1. Selection what stories are chosen?
Earlier this year, Vhong Navarro was
beaten up and made national news
headlines. Thus editors selected this
case as an important event
2. Emphasis what particular focus is
taken?
issue of rape that lead to the
mauling of actor Vhong Navarro was
covered by the media heavily
Vhong going to Denieces condo,
Cedric Lee beating Vhong
3. Elaboration what is added to beef
up the story?
Cedric Lees allegedly denieces
boyfriend, deniece cornejo, allegedly
the granddaughter of ceo of gma
network
DAP AND PDAF ISSUE
4. Exclusion What stories are not
covered because of the selection,
emphasis and the elaboration of the
chosen stories?
Why Vhong was in Denieces
condo?
WHO SETS THE AGENDA?
Media gatekeepers, candidates
themselves, public relations/interest groups,
compelling news events

Issues and Individuals Affected

1. Media are particularly effective in
creating public interest in political
issues and in chronic social issues
2. Need for orientation individuals
have differing needs for external
advice or direction
- relevance and level of uncertainty
- high need for orientation, higher to
be influenced by the news media
Example: child care issues = parents

Conclusion:

The Agenda-Setting Theory states

that gatekeepers selectively
determine an agenda for whats
news.
Public opinions are inevitably
shaped and influenced
News media influence their
audiences to think about selected
issues in a certain light
SCOPE: the theory is a mass
communication theory , it can now
be applied to commercial advertising,
business news and corporate
reputation,business influence on
federal policy, legal systems,
trials, roles of social groups,
audience control, public opinion,
and public relations.
TESTABILITY: it is testable; have
used the the agenda setting function
in investigating the power of mass
media
PARSIMONY: it is simple yet
complete, it tackles how the mass
media sets the agenda and how it
affects the public
UTILITY: it is very useful since in
this modern age, everyone

consumes the media everyday. We

can use this theory in looking
through how mass media, especially
the news media, influence us and
our opinion
HEURISM: yes, the theory generate
new thoughts and ideas. After
mccombs and shaw conceived this
theory, many communication
scholars have used it in exploring
different communication situations
and forms