This study examined the agenda-setting capacity of mass media during the 1968 US presidential campaign. The authors analyzed major newspapers, magazines, and TV news broadcasts to identify the key issues covered and their relative emphasis. They also interviewed undecided voters in North Carolina to determine what issues they considered most important. The findings showed strong correlations between the issues given emphasis by the media and those regarded as most important by undecided voters, indicating that the mass media influenced the public agenda during that election campaign. The authors conclude the study's results could likely apply to agenda-setting in other political campaigns as well.

1. THE AGENDA-SETTING
FUNCTION OF MASS MEDIA
Maxwell E. McCombs & Donald L. Shaw
Design and Analisys of Political Campaigns

2. Pexels
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
THE AUTORS
INTRODUCTION
METHOD
FINDINGS
DISCUSSION

3. The two founding fathers of
empirical research on the
agenda-setting function of
mass media.
THE
AUTHORS
YOUR NAME YOUR NAME
Maxwell E. McCombs Donald L. Shaw

4. "In any subject, many 'hear' but few
'listen.“
Berelson
“The mass media force attention to
certain issues. They build it images of
political figures. They are constantly
presenting objects suggesting what
individuals in the mass should think
about, know about, have feelings
about.”
Lang & Lang
“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."
Cohen
INTRODUCTION

5. METHODAgenda-setting capacity of the mass media in the
1968 presidential campaign.
M a ss Media Collect
• Durham Morning Herald, Durham Sun,
Raleigh News and Observer, Raleigh
Times, New York Times, Time,
Newsweek, and NBC and CBS evening
news broadcasts.
• Codification into 15 categories
representing the key issues and other
kinds of campaign news, divided into
"major" and "minor" levels.
• 1. Television.
• 2. Newspapers
• 3. News Magazines.
• 4. Editorial Page Coverage of
Newspapers and Magazines.
Inter v iews
• Chapel Hill / NC / US
• September 18 / October 6
• 100 interviews
• Only those not yet fully
committed to a particular
candidate.
• 61ter question was used to
identify those who had not yet
definitely decided how to vote.

6. Bansky
FINDINGS

7. TABLE 1
MAJOR MASS MEDIA REPORTS ON CANDIDATES AND ISSUES, BY CANDIDATES

8. TABLE 2
MASS MEDIA REPORT ON ISSUES, BY PARTIES

9. TABLE 3
INTERCORRELATIONS OF MAJOR AND MINOR ISSUE EMPHASIS BY SELECTED MEDIA WITH VOTER ISSUE EMPHASIS

10. TABLE 4
INTERCORRELATIONS OF VOTER EMPHASIS ON ISSUES WITH MEDIA COVERAGE

11. TABLE 5
INTERCORRELATIONS OF MASS MEDIA PRESIDENTIAL NEWS COVERAGE FOR MAJOR AND MINOR ITEMS

12. Darren Nisbett
Can the result of this
study be applied to the
agenda-setting in all
campaigns?
DISCUSSION

13. Thanks for your attention.

14. IMPORTANT MESSAGE !
Hypnotoad is a large toad-like creature that has large oscillating multicolored eyes and emits a droning hum. His eyes glow all the time. The toad apparently
uses these as a power of hypnotism on surrounding people and animals.
Hypnotoad hypnotizes sheep into a pen at a pet contest and then hypnotizes the judges and the audience into awarding it first prize (see clip below). He is also
known to hypnotize crew workers into committing suicide when his show is interrupted and to hypnotize people into writing internet articles about
ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD!!!!!!!!