Chp. 28 Agenda-Setting Theory

Chapter 28, Agenda-Setting Theory, is an objective theory that says the media tells us what to think about (first level agenda-setting), and in some cases, how and what to think about it (second level agenda-setting). Framing, as we discussed in class, is a term referring to how audiences tend to select some aspects of a person and make them the MAIN focus. In class, we discussed how Hillary Clinton and Barak O'bama are being exploited for being a woman (Hil) and a black candidate (O'bama). These are traits of the candidates that should not be the deciding factor on their chance at becoming president, but should only be their normal, physical attributes. The public, as well as journalists, news reporters, etc, tend to focus on the information that is less important, and turn it into something so big that it can be the deciding factor in someone's vote. However, this chapter also tells us that not everyone is as affected by the media. There are three types of people who are greatly affected, and that is : People who feel a need for orientation; because they want something to talk about with their peers, people who feel relevance to the topic; such as those who have a relative or friend or husband over in Iraq, and those who simply feel uncertainty and want to know as much as they can about someone or something. With newer media effects, we are about to choose from an abundant amount of sources that fit our liking, however, it is up to us to decide what we buy into, and what we choose to think about for ourselves.