AGENDA SETTING FUNCTION

Definition = The order of importance given in the media to issues and its correlation to the order of significance attached to the same issues by the public and politicians.

Research Question: What do media tell us to think about?

Measuring Prominence - What Gets Covered and How

• Selection process, or what stories to cover
  • Nearly 75% of potential news is rejected, due to space constraints, determined importance.
  • Any half-hour news show only has 22 minutes (8 minutes of commercials) to report days news.
  • Daily newspaper covers between 40% and 60% of the paper with advertisements.
• Editorial Process, or how to cover a story.
  • Prominence of the story includes page placement, headline, length etc.
  • Newspapers: front-page headline story, a three-column story on an inside page, the lead editorial.
  • Television: placement as one of the first three news items or any discussion which lasts over forty-five seconds.

Doing Agenda-Setting Research

Theory attempts to show a match between the media's agenda and the public's agenda.

1. Measure story prominence.
2. Ask people what they consider are key issues of the day.

Agenda-setting says: Media agenda --> Viewer's agenda

BUT, perhaps coverage reflects public concern: Viewer's agenda -->Media agenda.

3. Time lag survey