Lecture 10

In lecture 10 we discussed agenda setting, which can be defined as the process of the mass media presenting certain issues frequently and prominently, resulting in the public perceiving those issues as more important then others. The pre-amble can be described as an individual’s conception of reality socially constructed through a process of communication using shared language. Four agendas through agenda setting were outlined in the lecture. These include public, policy, corporate and media agenda. In particular, some basic assumptions of media agenda setting involve the mass media not merely reflecting and reporting reality, but filter and shaping it, the mass media leads the public to perceive some issues as more important the others, and finally the mass media creating images of events in our minds. An interesting concept learnt in this lecture is propaganda and the fact that people rely on the images in their minds in formulating judgments rather than by critically thinking. Now that I think of this concept, I agree with it and see myself expressing thoughts this way. We also discussed two types of agenda setting theories, the first level emphasizing the major issues and the transfer of salience of those issues, and secondly, what and how this is done. Through these theories, the agenda setting then transfers issues salience from the news media to the public. Following this, we learnt the strengths of agenda setting theory including explanatory, predictive and organizing power. Interestingly, the weaknesses seemed to have a large effect on agenda setting. Some of these include people who have already made up their minds on a particular topic, and people who may not be well informed or deeply engaged in the topic to have an opinion on it. Although some of this information seemed very straightforward and general knowledge, I found it helpful in having a better understanding of the influence media has on public opinion.