Agenda Setting Theory.
This week in my Mass Communications Theory course we discussed the idea of the agenda setting theory. Unlike in the bullet theory this theory suggest we aren't being told what to think we are instead being lead to think a certain way based on the stories that are being covered and the language used by these outlets. In the graphic above we see a basic flow chart illustrating what agenda setting theory is. News outlets are taking reality and using selection, omission, and framing in order to communicate their agenda. This in turn allows for the viewer to interpret their own view of reality but in actuality their perception of reality is being formed based off of the agenda of the news outlet.
In this video we get a good explanation of Agenda Setting Theory as well breakdown of the different terminology related to it. One interesting example who used was a poll done on support for Obama Care (OC) versus the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Out of the people pulled a significantly higher percentage of people supported the ACA vs OC even though they are the same thing, this sure survey also showed that there was a large amount of people who didn’t know what ACA was but most knew what OC was. (Agenda Setting Theory: Media Theories) This helps illustrate the power of a agenda on the part of Media outlets. Because the certain news stations were not in favor of the ACA and they knew that there viewers did not agree with Obama instead of calling it the ACA they reffered to it as OC. By referring to it as this we see them using framing to set up the idea in a way that the viewer will come to their conclusion that they don't like it.
In order to better understand this theory of Agenda Setting I decided to watch a local Newscast from here in Orlando FL. The story that stuck out to me was covering the shooting which took place at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando 5 years ago.
WFTV 9: Pulse Night Club Shooting
I watched a news cast from WFTV 9 and the story that stuck out to me was there coverage of the Pulse Night Club Shooting which happened 5 years ago this week. In this news cast I noticed that they interviewed people who went to the club and their grief they still carry from the event. Watching the story for two minutes I was able to identify the agenda as being the need for tigher gun control in the US. In the news cast they talked about how president Biden is working on a reform that would help eliminate loopholes that allow people to get guns. While the story comes off as being remorseful and sentimental to the tragedy it is clear that there is an agenda at play.
References
Video: Pulse survivors, families and community continue to gather to honor Pulse victims. WFTV. (n.d.). https://www.wftv.com/news/video-pulse-survivors-families-community-continue-gather-honor-pulse-victims/1cf893fe-a71f-43ed-a86b-fbc56bfce7b4/.
YouTube. (2019, June 20). Agenda Setting Theory: Media Theories. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12xwHhCntHA.
