The theory that news media do not tell audiences what to think but are strikingly effective at telling them what to think about, by choosing which issues to cover and how prominently. Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw formalized it in a 1968 study of the Chapel Hill, North Carolina electorate, finding a strong correlation between what voters called the most important issue and what local news coverage emphasized.
Facts
Concept Domain Formulated Year Domain
Domain (category) Connections
Associated With
Framing Theory, Concepts The two theories are taught as a contrasting pair: agenda-setting concerns what gets attention, framing concerns how it is presented.
Source Wikipedia
Both are opinion-formation theories concerned with how perceived media coverage shapes what the public believes others think.
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Spiral of silence (Wikipedia)Spiral of silence, opening paragraph
In Medium
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationHistory section
By comparing the salience of issues in news content with the public's perceptions, McCombs and Shaw determined the degree to which the media sways public opinion.
Early research section
much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about
- Agenda-setting theory, Lead
- Associated With: Framing Theory, Framing (social sciences), Distinction from agenda-setting
View the Source Spiral of silence (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Spiral of Silence Theory, Spiral of silence, opening paragraphView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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