Influence of Media Pt.1 (Agenda Setting Function Theory)

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The Agenda Setting Function Theory:


The first of the theories that I will discuss is that of the "Agenda Setting Function Theory". This theory essentially states that while media cannot tell you what to think, it can definitely influence your thought process and allow you to understand what to think about. The Agenda Setting Function Theory was developed by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw in 1972 as a result of their study of North Carolina voters during the 1968 presidential election campaign. This study found a correlation between issues that voters believed were important and issues that the media gave prominence to. According to Brett Lamb in his website LessonBucket, "McCombs and Shaw argued that the media uses a number of cues to indicate the importance of an issue. On the front page of a newspaper, for example, the importance of a story is indicated by the size of its heading. Likewise, a story that appears on the front page is more important than a story that appears on page five. According to this theory, the media has the power focus public discussion on particular issues. Again, it can’t tell us what to think but it can tell us what to think about."


References:

Lamb, B. (n.d.). Brett Lamb. Retrieved from https://lessonbucket.com/media-in-minutes/the-agenda-setting-function-theory/#more-308

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