Agenda Setting Theory

The means of communicationKnown as the fourth estate, they exert an undeniable influence on the whole of society. A large part of the conversations we have on a daily basis are related to the information that comes to us through television, radio or the press. On this matter there is a theoretical framework general that can help us better understand the role of the media: the theory of establishment of the agenda or agenda setting.

Its creators and the historical context in which the theory appeared

Maxwell McCombs and Donald L Shaw in 1972 were the ones who launched the idea of ​​setting the media agenda in their book "The evolution of Agenda Setting".

At that time the news worldwide focused on three issues as a priority: Palestinian terrorists murdered 11 Israeli athletes during the celebration of the Olympic Games By 1972, the Vietnam War was in its final phase and President Nixon was embroiled in the Watergate scandal.

Previously, the authors of this theory analyzed the 1968 presidential campaign in the United States and found that the The political and social concerns of the Americans were directly associated with the information of the mainstream media. communication.

In the empirical observations carried out within the framework of this theory, it was shown that the problems that were considered important for society as a whole coincided fully with the news disseminated by the communication.

Issues that are relevant to the media end up creating a public agenda and a political agenda

The general principle that is maintained in this theory is simple: the news that is disseminated in the media conditions the opinions of citizens. Thus, the media do not impose on us what we have to think on an issue, but somehow they "force" us to think about everything that is disclosed in the media agenda. Based on this initial idea, a series of general evaluations were presented:

1) our mental schemes are a direct reflection of the media and do not always correspond to what has happened in reality,

2) a large part of what is important and what is secondary in our lives does not come from ourselves but from the media agenda and

3) the communication process by which news is transmitted, also known as framing, not only determines what we think at a given moment but also our attitude vital in general.

Observing conclusions

First, all that information that is not integrated into the media agenda becomes non-existent. Second, people's concerns are the effect of the priorities of the media agenda (the The media do not tell what people are interested in, but rather people are interested in what the media).

For some communication analysts the theory of McCombs and Shaw is no longer valid

The role of the media in the 1970s and today has radically changed.

Analysts consider that currently the media first look at what people say on social networks and based on the data obtained, a media agenda is drawn up.

Censorship and manipulation technique pushed by money and power

In parallel, nowadays certain media corporations governed by their own interests seek to install in society the issues that benefit political and economic groups connected to the half.

They promote smear campaigns, omit protest demonstrations in the streets, or manipulate the impact of a certain fact, maximizing or minimizing it. There is even news that deliberately lies based on invented rumors, or articles published with the aim of giving credibility to a testimony lacking in argument.

Fotolia: Photobank / Nosyrevy

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