Then, in 1963, Bernard Cohen observed that “the press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about” (McCombs & Shaw, 1972, p. He never used the term agenda setting, but he was the first to notice that public opinion responds to the world constructed by the news media (Griffin, 2003). When discussing why the United States entered World War I, Walter Lippman first theorized that the media influences how the world is viewed. This paper aims to examine the development and details of the agenda setting theory in order to validate its importance to public relations professionals.Īlthough it is McCombs and Shaw who are credited with first formally introducing the agenda setting theory, they were not the first to notice that the media influences public interest. In order to be a successful public relations professional, it is crucial to understand and incorporate this theory. Agenda setting continues to evolve into a key theory in the communications field today.
This concept is formally known as the agenda setting theory a term first coined by professors Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw in 1972. The media effectively decides which issues will be on the agenda, and then brings them to attention of the public through recurring news coverage. When attempting to gage issues of public interest, it is best to first examine the issues that are repeatedly covered in the mass media. The history and development of agenda setting are discussed, as well as why this theory is important in the public relations industry today. This paper assesses how the media influences what issues are most prevalent on the public agenda through the examination of the agenda setting theory. Running head: AGENDA SETTING AND THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRYĪn Examination of Agenda Setting Theory and Its Importance in the Public Relations Industry
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