Agenda-setting theory is a communication theory that posits that the media can influence the public’s perception of the importance of issues by highlighting some issues while ignoring others. The theory suggests that media coverage does not tell people what to think but instead tells them what to think about (McCombs & Shaw, 1972).
The theory was first introduced in the seminal study by McCombs and Shaw (1972), who investigated the impact of media coverage on the 1968 presidential election in the United States. Their study found that the issues that the media covered the most became the most important issues for voters.
Since then, the agenda-setting theory has been expanded and refined by various scholars, and it has been applied to a wide range of media contexts. One of the most important contributions to the theory was the meta-analysis conducted by Weaver (1997), which reviewed 37 studies on agenda-setting and found strong evidence for the theory’s main proposition that the media influences the salience of issues in the public’s mind.
In recent years, several studies have examined the role of social media in the agenda-setting process. For instance, Tsfati and Shenhav (2012) found that social media can play an important role in shaping public opinion by amplifying the importance of certain issues and increasing their visibility.
In conclusion, the agenda-setting theory has been a key concept in media studies for several decades, and it has significantly influenced our understanding of how media coverage affects public opinion. By selecting which issues to cover and how to cover them, the media can set the public agenda and influence what issues the public thinks are most important.
References:
McCombs, M., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176-187.
Tsfati, Y., & Shenhav, S. R. (2012). The impact of social network sites on the agenda-setting theory. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(4), 467-482.
Weaver, D. H. (1997). The impact of agenda-setting research. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 74(4), 703-727