Agenda setting is a mass communication theory that describes the ability of the media to shape public opinion by determining what issues are given the most attention. It is the process of influencing the importance placed on the topics of the public agenda. The theory suggests that the media has the power to influence the publics perception of what is important by determining what issues are given the most attention. Agenda setting can occur at different levels, including policy agenda-setting, political agenda-setting, media agenda-setting, audience agenda-setting, and public agenda-setting.
Agenda setting is based on the concept of accessibility, which means that the more frequently an issue is covered by the media, the more accessible it becomes to the public, and the more likely it is to be perceived as important. The theory also suggests that the media can influence the publics perception of an issue by framing it in a particular way. Framing refers to the way in which news content is shaped and contextualized within the same frame of reference.
Agenda setting can be applied to various fields, including politics, business news coverage, and crime. In politics, political agenda-setting refers to the influence of the media agenda on the agenda of political actors. The central question of political agenda-setting research is whether political actors adopt the issue agenda of the news media in various aspects ranging from communicating about issues that are prominently discussed in the news media to prioritizing issues from the news media agenda in political decision making.
In summary, agenda setting is a mass communication theory that describes the ability of the media to shape public opinion by determining what issues are given the most attention. It can occur at different levels and is based on the concept of accessibility. Agenda setting can be applied to various fields, including politics, business news coverage, and crime.
