TEORI KOMUNIKASI

AGENDA SETTING
Dr. Ali S.

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 1
Classic example of the agenda setting
theory is the Watergate scandal in 1972
during Nixon.
There was a break in at the Democratic
National Committee hdqtrs.

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 1

The
incident
was
reported
by
Washington Post and in the beginning
the public thought it was unimportant.

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 2
By 1973 about 90% of Americans were
familiar with the word Watergate.
In 1974 Nixon was forced out of office as
majority of Americans thought he was a
crook.

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 3

The agenda is: - Not what to think

but what to think about.

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 3

Mass media have the ability to transfer

the salience (most important) of items on
their news agendas to the public agenda.
(McCombs and Shaw, 1974)

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 4
We look to news professionals for signals
on where to focus our attention.
we judge as important what the media
judge as important (McCombs and Shaw,
1974)

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 5
The agenda setting of the media is
said to provide explanation to how
the USA was drawn into World War I.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Walter
Lippmann claimed that the media act
as a mediator between the world
outside and the pictures in our heads.
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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 6
Another Scholar Bernard Cohen (1963):
The press may not be successful much
of the time in telling people what to think,
but it is stunningly successful in telling
its readers what to think about

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 7
One of the aspects in the concept of an
agenda-setting
role
of
mass
communication is the time frame for this
phenomenon.
Also, different media
agenda-setting potential.
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have

different

AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 7

Agenda-setting theory seems quite

appropriate to help us understand the
pervasive role of the media (for example
on political communication systems).

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 8:
Core Assumptions

The press and the media do not reflect

reality; they filter and shape it.

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 9:
Core Assumptions

Media concentration on a few issues

and subjects leads the public to
perceive those issues as more
important than other issues.

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 10:

Critique

It has explanatory power because it

explains why most people prioritize
the same issues as important.

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 11:

Critique

It has predictive power because it predicts

that if people are exposed to the same
media, they will feel the same issues are
important.

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 12:

Critique

It is parsimonious because it isnt

complex, and it is easy to understand.

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 13:

Critique

It is a springboard for further research

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 14:

Critique

It has organizing power because it

helps organize existing knowledge of
media effects.

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AGENDA-SETTING THEORY 15:

Critique

It can be proven false. If people

arent exposed to the same media,
they wont feel the same issues are
important.

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CONCLUSION

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