The document discusses agenda setting theory in mass communication. It states that media have the ability to determine which issues are important to the public by influencing what people think about rather than what to think. It provides background on the origins of the theory from Lippmann and Cohen and empirical research by McCombs and Shaw. Later research identified features like vividness, positioning and priming. The document also discusses agenda building, influences on media agendas, framing, and criticisms of agenda setting theory with examples of how Pakistani media practices it.

2. AGENDA SETTING THEORY OF
MEDIA
&
ITS IMPLICATIONS IN THIS ERA

3. WHAT AGENDA SETTING MEANS….
 A theory in mass-communication that states
that the media have the ability to determine
which issues are important to the public.
 Media don’t tell people what to think, but
what to think about.

4. BACKGROUND:
 Walter Lippmann (1922): People do not deal
directly with their environment as much as
they respond to “pictures” in their heads.
 Bernard Cohen (1963): Media successfully
tells readers what to “think about”.
 Maxwell McCombs & Donald Shaw (1972):
Conducted empirical research of Agenda
Setting on US Presidential elections.

5.  Shanto Iyenger and Donald Kinder (1987):
1- offered testable agenda setting hypothesis,
2- series of experiments examined Agenda Setting
and came up with 3 important features:
 Vividness of News Reports
 The positioning of stories
 Priming
Kurt Lang and Gladys Lang (1983):
Proposed the Concept of Agenda Building.

6. Influences From Outside Media Organizations
Influence Of Ideology On Media Content
Organizational Influences On Media Content
Individual Media Workers Influence On Media
Content
Influence Of Media Routines
WHO SETS THE MEDIA AGENDA?

7. FRAMING
 Mc Combs & Ghanem , Dietram
Scheufele
 Media provide a focus and environment
for reporting a story, influencing how
audiences will understand or evaluate it.

8. Exposure to mass
media
representation of
everyday
communication
Attention directed
towards cues used
by media
professionals
Decoding of media
representation of
everyday
communication
Frames developed
to interpret and
plan human action

9. AGENDA BUILDING
 A collective process in which media, government,
and the citizenry reciprocally influence one another
in areas of public policy.
 Media mobilize various institutions towards meeting
particular concerns.

10. QUALITIES AND POWERS OF AGENDA
SETTING THEORY
Provides Empirical
Demonstrations
Explanatory power
Strong predictive
power
Easy to understand
Provide New Areas for
Research
Integrates Similar
Ideas

11. CRITICISM
It has roots in Mass
Society Perspective
Media cannot create or
conceal issues.
Not a single agent to
disseminate information
Ignores cultural &
Demographic
Differences
Media users may not
be as ideal as this
theory assumes

12. HOW PAKISTANI MEDIA PRACTISE
AGENDA SETTING
EXAMPLES:
Increasing Rape Cases in Pakistan
Pakistan church blast
Sikandar case
Shahzaib murder case
Geo Education Campaign

13. MADE BY:
Wajeeha Azam
Kulsoom