1. Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw
Agenda Setting Theory
Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw

2. Agenda-setting hypothesis - what causes what?
The mass media have the ability to transfer the salience of issues on their news agenda to the public agenda.
i.e. We judge as important what the media judges as important.
Two types of agendas
Media agendas – pattern of news coverage across major print and broadcast media as measured by the prominence and length of stories
Public agendas – The most important public issues as measured by public opinion surveys.
Who is most affected by the media agenda? - Those individuals who have an index of curiosity ( need for orientation ) are motivated to let the media shape their views.
(Example: if I am an animal lover, stories on animal abuse catches my attention.)
The researchers McCombs and Shaw were attempting to make a correlation between the media and the public’s orders of priorities. There was an equivalence associated with the correlation of the media’s agenda and the public’s agenda. A test of the theory would be if the public agenda lags behind the media’s agenda. To test for a cause and effect situation, historical reviews were conducted of media attention stories with trends derived from the Gallup Poll. The results of which had shown a lag of public attention of approximately two years behind the media attention skills.
Those affected most by the media are individuals who have a need for orientation ( index of curiosity). These need comes from a sense of high relevancy and uncertainity. If a person has an affinity for a topic but yet is unschooled in related topics, may be unduly influenced by the media.

3. Framing: Transferring the Salience of Attributes
“The media aren’t very successful in telling us what to think, but they are stunningly successful in telling us what to think about”.
Framing – the selection, emphasis, exclusion and elaboration of the news content by the media
i.e. the media tells us what is important and is selective in reporting only the content dealing with the selective points of the content.
Example: John F. Kennedy was continually reported on as “youthful vigor” but his extramarital affairs were hidden by the press corps.
Current thought is: “The media may not only tell us what to
think about, they also may tell us how and what
to think about it, and perhaps even what to do
about it.”
Educational Video: Agenda Setting Theory

4. How Does Agenda Setting Theory Work?
Perception Model
Source: Prof. Frank Brettschneider, University Höhenheim, Germany

5. Behavioral Effect of the News Media
Research has shown connections between media agendas and opinion.
Interesting behaviors can be predicted after certain media priorities.
Examples: a reduction in travel by air and an increase in flight insurance after reports of airplane crashes.
Professional sports benefit from media:
Scheduling games during prime time
Players are idolized
Numbers of games increase
Monies paid to the professional sports organizations (NBA, AFC, etc) has grown exponentially – providing an agenda for a business plan

6. Who Sets the Agenda for the Agenda Setters?
A handful of news editors are “gatekeepers” of political dialogue
Operations chiefs of Associated Press
The New York Times
The Washington Post
Time
Newsweek
ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox and MSNBC
Candidates and Office Holders themselves
Interest aggregations - clusters of individuals who demand center stage
Compelling news events that cannot be ignored

7. New Media – Does it Shape Agendas, Opinions and Behavior?
Online reading of newspapers vs. print newspapers study
Print readers retained more content
Selection of issues are more important to individuals and align them to a prioritized agenda
New technologies create a more personalized information environment that curtails larger flows of public information
Age differences create preferential media choices
Young adults deem late-night comedians and the parodies may determine importance of issues in the media

8. Questions to ponder
1. If the media aren’t telling you what to think, why is their ability to tell you what to think about so important?
2. What dominant set of attributes could you use to frame an individuals’ point of view? Example: What attributes of a teacher could a student use to frame how the teacher is perceived by the student? Why might this be important in teacher evaluations?
Is there a recent issue that reporters and commentators are talking about that you may not care about? Do you think you still may not care about it two or three months from now?

9. References Griffin, E. A. A First Look at Communication Theory. 2012.
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Educational Video: Agenda Setting Theory. Accessed
Media Tenor Website. Accessed 11/12/11.