Why the Agenda is Your Fault

Taking responsibility for the news.

After the third hour of pope-related news on CNN today, I thought to myself, "I wish you wouldn't do this to me..." 

I was the victim of what many strategic communicators call Agenda-setting Theory (Lippman, 1922). It means that while mass media can't always tell us what to think, they can easily control what we think about.

By way of a three-hour religious broadcast, CNN had made me, an atheist in Florida, perseverate over Catholics in Italy. I respect all religions and their traditions. It's just that, like most people, I have limited time to invest in learning about current events; I want to focus on issues strongly linked to my community and my interests.

But here's the secret of agenda-setting: it's your fault. Most of us have access to dozens of news channels and millions of Web-based news sources. Rather than complaining about CNN, I should exercise my right, as a critical consumer, to choose alternatives. 

If I want to learn about technology, I'll visit Hacker News or Ars Technica. If I want to learn about writing, I'll head over to CowBird or WritersCafe. 

You get the idea, and it may seem like common sense to people well versed in Internet culture, but the point bears repeating; folks continue to complain about how mass media are hopelessly out of touch with important issues in their communities. 

In fact, mass media are to information what chain supermarkets are to food: the processed junk is displayed most prominently, and the good stuff is splayed along on the outskirts; sometimes you have to go out of your way to maintain a healthy media diet. 

Reviews

[A. H. Pinley]

The power to change the channel. Everyone knows that's how mainstream works, to find a overhyped news story to take your attention off of the issues that really matter. Though I disagree on some level with you, but yes I agree the coverage of the pope is undone.

[hawkharris]

"Everyone knows that's how mainstream works, to find a overhyped news story to take your attention off of the issues that really matter."

A.H., it doesn't matter if everyone knows. The point is that not everyone exercises his or her right to act as a critical consumer. In 2009, two-thirds of the country complained that media were biased and inaccurate. [1] Clearly, many people are choosing to complain about media instead of seeking alternatives.

[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/14/study-more-americans-thin_n_285508.html

[A. H. Pinley]

I would like to see what that figure is today on how the viewing public see the media bias and inaccuracy. I understand your point to a degree.

[char]

Well, I guess some people are idiots in regards to not being able to decide for themselves. Weak-willed, is what they are.

[hawkharris]

"Weak-willed, is what they are."

Anna, you’re comment accuses almost everyone in the United States of being idiotic and weak willed. As I mentioned in the comment above, two-thirds of people believe that media are biased and inaccurate, yet the same people regularly turn to the media (CNN, Fox, MSNBC, etc.) as their primary sources of news. [1]

People have a tendency to believe that the news influences their neighbors more than it influences themselves. Between 1949 and 2005, forty-five published articles found that this phenomenon, called the third person effect hypothesis, had a major impact on the way people thought about news. [2]

[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/14/study-more-americans-thin_n_285508.html

[2] Perloff, R.M. (1999). "The third-person effect: A critical review and synthesis". Media Psychology 1: 353-37.

[char]

So, maybe they will continue to listen to media, even though they call it "biased" and "inaccurate". Makes me wonder....

[C.N. Romano]

* Whoops, I meant to write "your" instead of "you're" in my last comment; that's embarrassing.
read more* Whoops, I meant to write "your" instead of "you're" in my last comment; that's embarrassing.

Anyhow, yeah, the data show that most people believe mass media are biased and inaccurate, yet people continue to listen to and be influenced by them, whether they realize it or not. To me this doesn't necessarily mean that most of our friends and neighbors are stupid...it just shows that mainstream news has a powerful way of setting the nation's agenda. Considering that most people feel dissatisfied with the agenda, they should make more of an effort to seek out alternatives based on their interests.