📺Media and Democracy Unit 12 – Media Policy: Agenda Setting and Framing

Key Concepts and Definitions

• Agenda setting refers to the media's ability to influence the importance placed on topics of public discussion
• Framing involves selecting some aspects of a perceived reality and making them more salient in a media text
  • Promotes a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation
• Priming is a concept related to agenda setting that suggests media emphasis on particular issues activates related concepts in the minds of the audience
• Gatekeeping is the process through which information is filtered for dissemination, whether for publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other mode of communication
• Public opinion represents the collective views and attitudes of the general population on a particular issue or topic
• Media effects refer to the influence that mass media exposure has on audiences' thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors
• Media bias indicates a perceived imbalance or partiality in the way journalists and media outlets report news stories

Historical Context

• The concept of agenda setting originated from Walter Lippmann's 1922 book "Public Opinion," which argued that media shapes public perceptions
• Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw first empirically studied agenda setting in their 1968 study of the U.S. presidential election
  • Found a strong correlation between media emphasis on issues and the importance attributed to those issues by the public
• Framing theory emerged in the 1970s, with sociologist Erving Goffman's book "Frame Analysis" (1974) serving as a seminal work
• The rise of 24-hour cable news channels (CNN) and the Internet (1990s) increased the media's capacity to set the agenda and frame issues
• Growing media consolidation and conglomeration in the late 20th century raised concerns about the concentration of media ownership and its impact on agenda setting and framing
• The proliferation of social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter) in the early 21st century has altered the dynamics of agenda setting and framing, with users playing a more active role

Agenda Setting Theory

• Agenda setting theory posits that the media doesn't tell people what to think, but rather what to think about
• The theory suggests that the more attention media gives to an issue, the more importance the public will attribute to it
  • This is known as the transfer of salience from the media agenda to the public agenda
• Agenda setting operates at two levels: object salience (the relative importance of issues) and attribute salience (the relative importance of attributes or characteristics of those issues)
• The media agenda is often influenced by various factors, including journalistic norms, news values, organizational constraints, and external pressures
• Intermedia agenda setting refers to the influence of one media outlet's agenda on the agendas of other media outlets
• The public's need for orientation, which is determined by the relevance and uncertainty surrounding an issue, can moderate the agenda setting effect
• Critics argue that agenda setting theory oversimplifies the complex relationship between media, public opinion, and policy

Framing Theory

• Framing theory suggests that how an issue is characterized or presented in media reports can influence how it is understood by audiences
• Frames serve as interpretive packages that give meaning to an issue by defining the problem, diagnosing causes, making moral judgments, and suggesting remedies
• Framing effects occur when changes in the presentation of an issue or event produce changes of opinion among the audience
  • Equivalent frames (logically equivalent but with different "spins") can lead to very different audience responses
• Media frames can be influenced by various factors, including journalistic routines, cultural contexts, and the strategic communication efforts of stakeholders
• Episodic frames depict issues in terms of specific instances or events, while thematic frames place issues in a broader context
• Gain frames emphasize the benefits of a particular action or policy, while loss frames highlight the costs or risks
• Framing can have significant implications for public opinion, political discourse, and policy outcomes

Media Ownership and Influence

• Media ownership refers to the individuals, corporations, or institutions that own and control media outlets
• Concentration of media ownership has increased in recent decades, with a handful of large conglomerates dominating the global media landscape
  • Examples include Comcast, Disney, News Corporation, and Viacom
• Media consolidation raises concerns about the diversity of viewpoints and the potential for owners to influence news coverage and editorial decisions
• Vertical integration, where a company controls multiple stages of the media production and distribution process, can further concentrate media power
• Cross-media ownership, where a company owns outlets across different media platforms (television, radio, print, online), can amplify its ability to set the agenda and frame issues
• Ownership structures can affect media content through direct intervention, self-censorship, or the internalization of owner values by journalists
• Critics argue that media concentration undermines democracy by reducing the range of voices and perspectives in the public sphere

Case Studies and Examples

• The 1968 U.S. presidential election study by McCombs and Shaw demonstrated the agenda setting effect, with a strong correlation between media emphasis on issues and voter priorities
• The "War on Terror" framing after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 illustrates how media frames can shape public perceptions and policy responses
  • Media coverage emphasized themes of fear, patriotism, and military action, with less attention to alternative perspectives or the root causes of terrorism
• The framing of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement in 2011 varied across media outlets, with some emphasizing the protesters' grievances and others focusing on the disruption caused by the demonstrations
• The media's agenda setting and framing of the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced public attitudes and behaviors, as well as government responses
  • Media attention to case numbers, mortality rates, and economic impacts has shaped perceptions of the crisis
• The ownership of Fox News by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has raised questions about the network's editorial independence and its role in shaping conservative political discourse in the United States
• The acquisition of The Washington Post by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2013 sparked debates about the implications of tech billionaires owning major news outlets

Policy Implications

• Agenda setting and framing theories highlight the media's role in shaping public opinion and policy priorities
• Policymakers are often responsive to issues that receive extensive media coverage and are framed as urgent or important
  • This can lead to policy agendas being driven by media attention rather than evidence-based assessments of social needs
• Media framing of policy issues can influence public support for or opposition to particular policy options
  • Framing gun violence as a public health issue versus a matter of individual rights can shape attitudes toward gun control measures
• The concentration of media ownership can limit the diversity of perspectives informing policy debates and decisions
• Regulations on media ownership, such as limits on cross-media ownership or foreign ownership, aim to promote media diversity and prevent undue influence
• Policies to support public service media, such as funding for public broadcasting, can provide alternative voices and agendas to commercial media
• Media literacy education can help citizens critically evaluate media content and recognize the influence of agenda setting and framing on public discourse

Critical Analysis and Debates

• Critics argue that agenda setting theory oversimplifies the complex, multi-directional relationships between media, public opinion, and policy
  • The public and policymakers can also influence the media agenda through social media, activism, and political strategies
• The extent to which media agendas and frames shape public opinion may vary depending on individual characteristics, such as political knowledge, ideology, and media consumption habits
• Some scholars contend that framing theory's focus on media effects overlooks the role of audiences in actively interpreting and negotiating media messages
• The increasing fragmentation of media audiences across multiple platforms and outlets may limit the agenda setting and framing power of any single media source
• The rise of algorithmic news curation and personalization on digital platforms raises new questions about who or what is setting the agenda and framing issues for individual users
• Critics of media consolidation argue that it undermines media diversity and democratic discourse, while proponents contend that it can provide the scale and resources necessary for high-quality journalism
• Debates persist about the appropriate balance between media freedom and responsibility, particularly in an era of viral misinformation and polarization
• Scholars continue to refine and adapt agenda setting and framing theories to account for the changing media landscape and the evolving dynamics of public opinion formation