Tutorial #5

This week's topic is news agenda and agenda setting. Agenda setting, in basic terms, is the control of reader's opinions by journalists. There are four major agenda types:

• Public Agenda - this has to do with the topics that the public thinks is important.
• Policy Agenda - this is about the issues thought to be important by the people who have the power to make important decisions.
•  Corporate Agenda - what big businesses and corporations consider to be important.
• Media Agenda - items which are discussed and concentrated on in the media.

An example of agenda setting given to the class by the lecturer was Justin Bieber's haircut and the war in Afghanistan. Today, Justin Bieber's new haircut is more likely to be on the front page and the war in Afghanistan is more likely to be further towards the back. This is because Justin Bieber is a celebrity who many people want to know everything about because he is rich, famous, talented and good looking, and that is what is considered important. It is also more pleasant to read about than war.
 Agenda setting is all about influence, and Harold Lasswell states that, "mass media injects direct influence into the audience." This basically means that the media tells the audience not only what to have an opinion about, but what that opinion should be.
There are many aspects in the "Agenda Setting Family." These include:

• Media Gatekeeping - The media chooses what is revealed to the public and what remains hidden.
• Media Advocacy - When a message is promoted or advertised through a story.
• Agenda Cutting - When certain stories are pushed back or cut out because they are seen as less important than other stories.
• Agenda Surfing (Bandwagon Effect) - This is when the media follows the latest trends and public opinion.
• The Diffusion of News - This is the process of communication of important events to the public.
• Portrayal of Issues - The perspective of an issue that is presented to the audience. This will usually influence the audience to think positively or negatively about a topic or event.
• Media Dependence - Many people depend on the media, and the more dependent they are, the more susceptible they are to agenda setting.

However, agenda setting is not all bad. It does explain how readers prioritize events and topics. It also allows journalists to predict how to write a story and what they should write about, knowing that the audience will see it as important.