19 September - Lecture Week 9

On week ninth, we learned about agenda setting. Agenda setting is the process of mass media presenting certain issues. There are two types of agenda setting theory:
1) First level: media inform public on what issue they should focus on
2) Second level: media suggest how public should to think with the issue

Agenda setting is about:

1) Media Gatekeeping: controlling the exposure of an issue towards public

2) Media Advocacy: promotion of a message for example dental health

3) Agenda Cutting: when issues are not represented in media

4) Agenda Surfing or 'bandwagon effect': when public opinion forms other opinions

5) The Diffusion of News: the process of communicating an issue to the public

6) Portrayal of an Issue: the way media portray an issue will influence public perception towards it

7) Media Dependence: the more dependent person towards the media, the more susceptible the person is.

One of an interesting point of the lecture is the media setting assumption that media filters and shapes reality. In one of my last posts was about a documentary I watched, FOXNews. One of a scene in it was that FOXNews announced the election result before the votes were fully counted. FOXNews 'shaped reality' and Bush became president. The power of media to shape reality is quiet true at some events but I hope that I will not become one of this failing journalists that filter and shape the reality.