COMM 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Walter Lippmann, Mass Media, Eyal
12 Jun 2018
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Agenda Setting
OUTLINE
● Agenda Setting
● Conceptual Roots
● Research Tradition and Phases of Agenda-Setting Research
● Sources of Media Routines
● Attribute Agenda Setting and Framing
I. Agenda Setting
● A type of comm effect showing a strong LINK betw importance placed on issues by news media
& importance of issues to public
○ Things that get covered more in the news→ Voters think they are
more important
● Issues that are covered more in news→ Seen as more important by
public
● Public doesn’t just necessarily agree on how to handle issue→ Just
that it’s important
EXAMPLE:
➢ Many stories cover proposed border wall & travel ban
➢ People who are concerned about immigration are reminded of the reasons why they
want it controlled
➢ People who want more open borders will protest
➢ Both sides PRIORITIZE immigration more
➢ Result: Believe it to be more important than other issues
● For many yrs, causal direction betw news media & public difficult to est. in a compelling way
○ Criteria for causality:
■ Relationship
■ Time order
■ Lack of spuriousness
○ Research always showed a relationship, but generally measured in ways that could NOT
est. the other two
● Recently, improvements in stat. measurement have overcome this
● Public opinion measured before & after media coverage of issues
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● Increasing evidence that news coverage directly affects perceptions of importance
Reasons
● News professionals set agenda for news consumers by gauging its importance to
readers/viewers
● ”atekeeping→ Time & space restraints restrict info flow
● Media has to prioritize
● These choices matter
Traditional View of Agenda Setting
● The media ma not e suessul muh o the time in tellin people hat to think, ut it is
stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about. The world will look different to
different people," Cohen continues, "depending on the map that is drawn for them by writers,
editors, and pulishers o the paper the read. Cohen, 1963
II. Conceptual Roots
● Walter Lippmann→ Columnist, social commentator
● Psuedo-environment
○ The world is too big to comprehend/report on
○ Can only comprehend parts of it→ Our psuedo-environment
○ Subjective and bias→ Therefore our perspectives can be distorted
● News-media projections create a psuedo-environment for news consumers
○ EX: Experience of war
● Material presented presumes what consumers are concerned about
The Cognitive Paradigm
● 1960s-70s researcher rejected idea that news was inherently likely to be persuasive
○ Moved away from whether or not people were persuaded to think differently
○ Looked more broadly at other ways they might be affected
● Cognitive paradigm emerged
● Three factors influence each other bidirectionally
1. A person’s ehaior
2. A person’s onitie ailities
3. Environmental events
Priming
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Research tradition and phases of agenda-setting research. Attribute agenda setting and framing: agenda setting. A type of comm effect showing a strong link betw importance placed on issues by news media. Things that get covered more in the news voters think they are more important. Issues that are covered more in news seen as more important by public. Public doesn"t just necessarily agree on how to handle issue just that it"s important. Many stories cover proposed border wall & travel ban. People who are concerned about immigration are reminded of the reasons why they want it controlled. People who want more open borders will protest. Result: believe it to be more important than other issues. For many yrs, causal direction betw news media & public difficult to est. in a compelling way. Research always showed a relationship, but generally measured in ways that could not est. the other two. Recently, improvements in stat. measurement have overcome this.
