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Annotated Bibliography: Agenda Setting |
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Agenda study is what the GROUP will think about. The media's concern generally precedes public concern by approximately 4 months. This does not take into account personal relevance to news stories or play on emotions. Uncertain agenda is unproven, but probably true.
Sevrein, Wermer J. and James W. Tankard, Jr. (1988) Communication Theories: Origins, Methods, Uses. Longman. Researchers Shanto Iyengar of Yale and two colleagues conducted an experiment essentially proving that when newscasts were altered to emphasize certain aspects of society, people rank the emphasized issues as more important than other issues. Agenda setting may not show up on issues for which some people show uncertainty and others do not. Research suggests that the press is not a mirror reflecting society as it really is. In polls, issues that the public thought were important were the ones the media covered the most.
Pember, Don R. (1981) Mass Media in America. Science Research Associates, Inc. Bernard Cohen states that while "the press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, it is stunningly successful in telling readers what to think about". Mass media sets up topics for public discussion.
Agee, Warren K., Phillip ault and Edwin Emery. (1982) Perspectives on Mass Communications. Harper & Row. Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw showed in 1972 that undecided voters in the presidential campaign gave the same priorities to issues as they were given by the press. If a voter needs orientation, he wil listen to every aspect of the campaign. They studied "swing voters"in the 1968 and 1972 elections, during which the voters took the same stand as the editorials in their favorite newspaper.
Wimmer, Roger and Joseph Dominick. (1994) Mass Media Research: an introduction. Wadsworth. The concept of agenda study can be traced to Walter Lippman, who, in 1922, suggested that the media was responsible for the "pictures in our heads". Media agenda is measured by categorizing broadly categorizing topics and measuring the amount of time devoted to each. Three time frames for collecting data in agenda-setting research are 1. Duration of media agenda measurement period
Robinson, Scott. (1998) Is Agenda-Setting a Two Way Street?. Online. Available http://www.niu.edu/newsplace/agenda2.html In an informal study, Eobinson found that students thought that too much coverage was given to certain topics, such as Princess Diana's death and the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal. They also believed that crime is increasing when it is actually decreasing. Due to agenda setting, the wealthiest, not necessarily the best candidate gets the most air time, and therefore more support from "swing voters" (hence the need for campaign finance reform).
Kass, Martin. (1999) Online. Available http://wnt.cc.utevas.edu/~kas/agenda/Theory/issues_3.html. There is a two step flow of communication: public to media and within the public. Wantan and Hu found three attributes influencing agenda setting in individuals
Emery, Michael and Ted Curtis Smythe. (1986) Readings in Mass Communications: Concepts and Issues in the Mass Media. Wm. C. Brown Publishers. This book discusses media responsibility for public perceptions of reality, or the "pictures in our heads". It also elaborates on the agendas of both the media and the public. These agendas are circular in that the public's perception decides what is important, but the public is influenced by the media.
Davis, Richard and Diana Owen. (1998) New Media and American Politics. Oxford University Press. Radio and talk show hosts have a predetermined agenda. These hosts only respond to listeners who ask the right questions, or say the right things. These hosts chose political content, or their specific agenda. However, these hosts do not engage in direct activism and use mostly discrete tactics. However, hosts must somewhat tailor agendas and opinions to popular audience interest.
Iyengar, Shanto and Richard Reeves. (1997) Do the Media Govern? Politicians, Voters, and Reporters in America. Sage Publications. This book gives an overall history of agenda-setting. McCombs established the paradigm termed "the hierarchy of agenda-setting". It also describes the first and second diimensions of agenda-setting. News coverage influences the salience of objects on the public agenda. This phenomenon is the first dimension. The media frames these objects and influences the "pictures in our heads" of reality. This is the second dimension of agenda-setting.
Bormann, Ernest G. (1980) Communication Theory. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. According to agenda-setting formulation, media tell audiences not so much what to think as what to think about. This concept arose from survey studies.
Conway, Kelly. (1999) Kelly's Discussion of Agenda-Setting. Online. Available http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~kc722196/kcas.htm. There are two main points of agenda-setting- 1)reaffirmation of the power of the press and the control it holds 2) while keeping individuals' freedom of choice intact. This theory shows how people respond to the media.
Smith, Andrew. (1999) Agenda Setting by John W. Kingdom: An Article Review by Andrew Smith. Online. Available http://www.tamucc.edu/~whatley/PADM5302/theo13b.htm. This article supports John Kingdon's study on agenda-setting. He believes that the agenda is the key hurdle for issues to become public policy.
McCombs, Maxwell. (1999) Agenda-Settings: Readings on Media, Public Opinion, and Policymaking. Online. Available http://www.erlbaum.com/html/2036.htm. The news media defines the important issues of the day. This defining is called agenda-setting.
McCombs, Maxwell. (1991) Contemporary Public Opinion: Issues and the News. Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, Publishers. The mass media are not the only influence on the public and government agendas, although they are an important force. Other groups and instituations play significant roles in setting the public and policy agendas.
Weaver, David and Doris A. Graber and Maxwell E. McCombs and Chaim H. Eyal. (1981) Media Agenda-Setting in a Presidential Election: Issues, Images, and Interest. Praeger. The press cannot report what is actually happening because of natural limitations. This holds true for presidential elections as well. Politicians campaign for press coverage just like they campaign for votes.
. Shaw, Donald L and Maxwell E McCombs. (1977) The Emergence of American Political Issues: The Agenda Setting Function of the Press. West Publishing Co. This book seeks to determine more about the relationships between the American press and the society it serves. The researchers want to know what the public actually learns. Leyland, Adam. (1999) Journalists: grudging respect for PR execs. Online. Available http://www.prweekus.com/us/news/archive/September271999.htm A survey was conducted by PRWeek journalist Adam Leyland concerning the amount of their own insight they place into their articles.
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