Agenda Setting/Media Propaganda

          For our class this upcoming Tuesday, we are doing presentations that are centered around types of information and how that information can be used. My group is responsible for explaining and presenting on multiple theories about inform; such as the 'Illusory Truth Effect', 'Confirmation Bias', 'Gatekeeping', 'Agenda Setting', 'Overton Window', and 'Spiral of Silence'. My personal part of the presentation is to cover the 'Agenda Setting' theory. The definition of Agenda Setting: “Is the idea and theory that what the public thinks about is set by the media”. This is an interesting subject to ponder about; as in this modern setting, we have seen the news held responsible and blamed for some many false news articles and stories, especially within politics. From my research, Agenda Setting is actually just propaganda that specifically comes from some sort of media. This media uses their resources and skills to reach people and try to convince them to follow some sort path. In other words, this is simply a more scientific term for media manipulation. We have seen this throughout history, especially during war and political events and movements. The Agenda Setting theory was first developed and introduced by Drs. Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw in 1972.           The Agenda Setting theory has two concepts that the creators wanted to focus on. The first concept is how the media filters every bit of information before they allow the public to hear or see it. This causes them to shape and manipulate the message, rather than reflect it. The second concept that one should focus on when dealing with this theory, is how the media can cause people to value different stories in different perspectives. Usually, if something is on the news, people tend to hold those stories in great value and importance, even if the stories are literally about nothing. The theory also puts a lot of stress and interest on how technology has allowed medias to go so far in manipulating information, and how far this information can go and interact with. There are a few questions to consider when dealing with this type of information along with this type of theory. The first question decides on if this is good or bad for people? This is a difficult standing; as some manipulation is possibly necessary, depending on the circumstance. However, such media manipulation could be very harmful and damaging to people and our society. The major aspects of damage that could be done to society by this media manipulation consists of large divisions among the populace, damaged reputations, loss of resources and money, and cause the society to slowly become unstable and dismantled. As we can see in our today society, the United States is deeply divided because of manipulation both media and political. It is now men vs women, black vs white, rich vs poor. This is truly a sad time for our great nation. Going from a societal problem to a personal problem, such manipulation can cause families to split, cause individuals to react emotionally to certain information, and cause a deep decay in personal matters and life. One of the main questions that we must ask ourselves is how can we allow such manipulation to continue, or is it already to late?