What Politicians Can Learn From #Covfefe

Thanks to social media, we are now more connected to our politicians than ever before. Using social platforms like Twitter, politicians have been able to talk directly to the public about important issues and their stances on them, without waiting for mainstream media to carry their message for them. Politicians, like President Donald Trump are […]

“…the mass media set the agenda for each political campaign, influencing the salience of attitudes toward the political issues.”

McCombs & Shaw, 1972

According to a research conducted by McCombs and Shaw (1972), media emphasis on different campaign issues tended to affect voters’ judgment of the salience of various campaign issues, which manifested agenda-setting function of news media.

Agenda setting refers to media practice that distinguishes between major issues and minor issues by distributes its resources (e.g. the amount of imformation, staff, headlines) differently to various events and topics. The selection and arrangement is based on certain news value criteria, which derive from daily practice and the knowledge of audiences’ appetite.

Daily briefing is a common form of agenda setting practice in news media. Here is an example from CNN’s official Twitter account:

5 things for Wednesday:

– Politics
– Winter Olympics
– Taiwan earthquake
– Poland
– Space X launchhttps://t.co/w8cfEP8tr6 pic.twitter.com/6LXGuJLKAb

— CNN (@CNN) February 7, 2018

CNN listed 5 events that their editors believed were of the greatest importance. Political activities (and other events related to elite persons), international (sport) events and natural disasters (and other negative news) are commonly acknowledged as newsworthy. Although in some cases news media is severely biased, they have basic consensus on news value. (McCombs & Shaw, 1972)

Another example is from @Reuters:

Morning Briefing:
– @SpeciaReports explores Taser use on 'high risk' targets
– Rescuers comb rubble after quake rocks Taiwan city
– @ReutersGraphics on Amazon, the Prime economyhttps://t.co/05zwvaaWjU pic.twitter.com/5eMaU2kvxL

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) February 7, 2018

Despite the news events, this news agency also attached importance to information and story about their sponsor brand, Amazon, which indicates that agenda setting process does not merely depend on news value.

However, McCombs and Shaw’s study (1972) also proved that audiences had composite understanding about media contents. That is to say, agenda-setting practice has limited influence on audiences. It reminds politicians who utilize the agenda-setting function of the significance of monitoring and analyzing audiences’ media use, as knowledge about their real preference helps seize potential supporters.

Reference

McCombs, M., & Shaw, D. (1972). The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/267990

Set Your Own Agenda

The media has an impact on people’s understanding of society. In Agenda-setting theory, the mass media can influence people’s attention to events through the information the mass media provide and the topics they organize (University of Twente, 2018). Of course, more and more clever audiences will not be completely dominated by the mass media. The […]

The agenda has been set: politicians, take action and take to Twitter

“The Agenda Setting Function of the Mass Media” written by Donald Shaw and Maxwell E. McCombs is testing the plausibility that mass media ultimately force our attention to certain issues—not necessarily telling us what to think, but what to think about as stated in their research. If this is true, then politicians like Cory Booker […]

Politicians and Their New Love: Twitter

With the power of social media, politicians are given larger platforms to spread their opinions and interact with constituents. Citizens are also able to readily see these opinions which has lead to both positive and negative effects on the current political climate. People are taking to social media to gather deeper understandings into different issues […]

Those Running in Midterm Elections Must Heed Agenda Setting Theory

McCombs and Shaw’s Agenda Setting Theory states that media has the most powerful influence in what issues are important. This November all U.S. House of Representatives seats and a third of the Senate seats will be up for reelection. Based upon Agenda Setting Theory and the current hostile political climate, those running for election should […]

Who sets the public agenda in the era of social media?

The agenda-setting theory is nothing more than a theoretical reference to be deconstructed in the present. In my opinion, several factors intercede to build a public agenda, one of them is social media. The active participation of people in deciding what to think is mixed with the influence of the media mainstream and the politicians’ own […]

Politicians – Drop the name calling and tell us what you stand for

Today’s political world and media world are locked in constant battle debating what’s “fake news” and what isn’t. Instead of spending time reading the news for information about a politician’s platform, the public is now spending time trying to decipher who is telling the truth and who isn’t. Crooked Hillary Clinton now blames everybody […]

Who Runs the World? Facebook

Facebook has exploded since I made my first photo album on the social media platform back in eighth grade. About eight years later, Facebook’s non-threatening interface and promise of instant communication gratification has people all over the world logging on. With 2 billion users, Facebook has a population larger than any country in the world. […]

Argumentation Theory and Minimalism Theory

Argumentation and Minimalism are both part of the University of Twente’s communication theories. Our group explores these concepts through the use of social media, as well as computer and mobile applications. We look at argumentation as a way to problem solve and how social media both helps and hinders finding solutions. We also look at […]

Newhouse

SOCIAL MEDIA

Month: February 2018