Agenda-Setting Theory

Duterte is a good man says the media, and a lot of the positive comments about him appear, it says that he is a man of action, he did for months what other presidents can’t do within a year, and it shows the effectivity of his leadership and the will of sacrificing for the country. On the other hand, Duterte is a vicious man, says also by the media, It tells how vicious he is with his “war on drugs” on how people are not given the justice we all deserve. It also shows how foul his mouth is, like he is just talking at the street or to just anyone. These different media point of views greatly influences a lot of people on what side to take. Some other people just shrug the topic off their shoulder.

According to Wikipedia, Agenda-setting theory describes the "ability of the news media to influence the salience of topics on the public agenda. Agenda-setting theory was formally developed by Max McCombs and Donald Shaw in a study on the 1968 American presidential election. In the 1968 "Chapel Hill study," Combs and Shaw demonstrated a strong correlation coefficient (r > .9) between what 100 residents of Chapel Hill, North Carolina thought was the most important election issue and what the local and national news media reported was the most important issue. By comparing the salience of issues in news content with the public's perceptions of the most important election issue, McCombs and Shaw were able to determine the degree to which the media determines public opinion.”

Agenda-setting theory have this influence and effects on people, they provide exposure, attention. At the same time, it makes you realize that even though media is powerful it does not force you anything, you are free to realize things on your own. Media doesn’t dictate to us what to think but rather what to think about. Example is time of election campaigns, Binay really is active with his songs and videos of how it is in Makati, Duterte’s followers showing how Davao is. Mar Roxas with the support of celebrities. Many ways of campaigning are used through media and really influences the decision of most people, include the simple arguments in Facebook, Twitter and many other social media accounts.

Some people does have a strong will of standing up for what they believe is right, but let us admit that many people gets easily shaped by media, and who are they? They are the people that has a little background of in some stories or issues. They tend to believe in media easily especially if they liked the topic. This can be good, if what the news or the media says is true or facts with evidences, but the bad thing is if it is filled with opinions, It may be the truth but some facts or details are erased to let the audience see what they want to show, It can be called framing, It influences us on what to think or how we think about them.

Media is also powerful in controlling people, for example, there’s this big problem in some aspect of our government but it can easily be ignored if you make two celebrities fight because of one same guy, It can draw attention to many. It can affect our behavior, show a video clip of someone who puts out his or her IPhone and got snatched, see a lot of people putting out their expensive phones less than often. Media can also affect our stand in things, Because media is often the first and only exposure that people have to issues. Media is not just for news and government related issues, It is widely used, One of many examples is how advertising works, more exposure by portraying their own product in an appealing light and you will be surprise that you will get more buyers. Example in this matter is the tobacco industry, they spent years convincing people that cigarettes were sophisticated and desirable, despite the health risks associated with smoking.

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