Cameron Kauder

Media Audiences
9/11/15
Maxwell McCombs
Maxwell McCombs is a journalism professor at the University of Texas and is
viewed by many as one of the founding fathers of empirical research, specifically
regarding the agenda-setting function mass communication and media. His research
and theories have left a lasting impact ever since he coined the phrase agenda-setting
back in 1968. His work was the first to suggest that news media can have a large impact
and major influence on which issues the public finds important. This theory created a
major component of what we study in modern communication classes today.

Training and Orientation

Maxwell McCombs was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1938. He earned his
undergraduate at Tulane University in 1960 and immediately entered a masters program
at Stanford, which he completed a year later. With his formal education completed,
McCombs began work in New Orleans as a newspaper reporter. After working steady for
several years, he decided to pursue his doctorate at Stanford and completed that in 1966.
This began his career as a college professor, and in 1967he relocated to the University of
North Carolina. It was there that he and his research partner, Donald Shaw, began their
near 40 year research program.

Major Contributions to Audience Studies

McCombs and Shaw released their preliminary research findings in 1972,

regarding the presidential election of 1968 between Richard Nixon and Hubert
Humphrey. In the magazine Public Opinion Quarterly, McCombs theorized that the news
media could have a major and lasting impact on which issues the public and overall
viewers of the media consider important. Another part of this theory was that by showing
or discussing certain issues or news items more often, audiences consider them to be
more important. The agenda-setting theory was developed after McCombs was able to
determine a strong correlation coefficient between what 100 people though were
important political issues in the election, and what the news media reported was the most
important election issue. The core statements of his theory said, the press and the media
do not reflect reality, the filter and shape it and media concentration on a few subjects
leads the public to perceive those issues as more important. This was an extremely
important discovery as it proved that the media could materially affect public opinion.
McCombs theories lead to a widespread breakthrough in mass communication research.
It prompted many subsequent papers and discussions regarding the usefulness of this
phenomenon, as well as the ethical quandaries surrounding public influence.

Evaluation of Work
Based on the multitude of subsequent articles, studies, and reports; it is clear that
McCombs theory is considered relevant and of merit. An excellent example of this is
occurring today, with the 2016 presidential election news. Donald Trump has dominated
the headlines and cable news show airtime, giving him a much larger media presence.
This is causing audiences and the country as a whole to put him and his issues at the

forefront of the political debate. As McCombs wrote in his original article, The media
appear to have exerted a considerable impact on voters judgments of what they
considered the major issues of the campaign even though the questionnaire specifically
told them to make their decisions without regard to what politicians and news
personalities might be saying in the media. It works, even from a common sense
standpoint. If a person sees a particular issue or candidate every time they turn on a TV or
read the news, it is logical that they will begin to regard that person or issue as more
important than those that dont have as much exposure. After all, why would news
sources show someone or discuss a particular issue the most if it were not important? The
theory is solid, and makes you wonder how much of the democratic American political
system is impacted by our trusted news sources.

Work Cited

Weaver, David. Maxwell McCombs: American Professor. Encyclopedia Britannica. 6

February 2014. Web. 10 September 2015.

Anonymous. Maxwell McCombs: Professor Emeritus. The University of Texas at

Austin School of Journalism. 1 January 2014. Web. 10 September 2015.

McCombs, Maxwell. Shaw, Donald. The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media.

Public Opinion Quarterly. 1972: 176-187. Print.