Our Chosen Reality
Agenda setting is the reality that describes the ability the media has on influencing the salience of topics on the public agenda. Reality is shared and constructed through social life, and the media plays a huge role in the mediation of that social life.
Public media (what the public perceives as important), policy agenda (issues decision makers think are salient), corporate agenda (issues big businesses and corporations think are important) and the media agenda all overlap and influence what we are subject to in news stands, on Facebook updates and office conversations. The mass media presents certain issues more frequently and prominently (in regards to news values) so that the general public perceive it as more important. In summary, the media has the ability to filter and shape what we perceive as important, and in turn shape our reality.
While you may think this holds several ethical issues, it does not (at least in most cases) intentionally manipulate viewers. The mass media instead is inadvertently focusing the news, but this does not mean it is devoid of problems. Questions we can ask ourselves as a reality check include:
- Media Gatekeeping - How do individuals control the flow of messages and what the media chooses the reveal?
- Media Advocacy - is there a purposeful message?
- Agenda Cutting - Is what happening in the world truly represented?
- Agenda Surfing - "Bandwagon effect" as the media follows and creates trends.
- Diffusion of News - Who decides how, when and where the news is released?
- Portrayal of an issue - different aspects regarding different news sources
- Media Dependence - Why is there a growing need for Facebook/Twitter and instant access to information?
All of these are things to keep in mind when consuming the news, in any form.
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