Deck 30: Agenda-Setting Theory

Question 1

For McCombs and Shaw, an important story in the newspapers would be:

A) a three-column story on an inside page.
B) the lead editorial.
C) a front-page headline story.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

At the second level of agenda-setting, the media:

A) tell us what issues are important.
B) give prominence to stories that reinforce the capitalistic agenda, particularly if they feature violence against minorities.
C) transfer salience of a collection of dominant attributes that the media associate with an attitude object to the audience's image of the object.
D) Both A and B are correct.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following groups are NOT considered important agenda-setters?

A) media gatekeepers
B) candidates and officeholders
C) public relations professionals
D) industry leaders

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Proof of the definite chain of influence from the media to the general public was provided by:

A) Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw.
B) Ray Funkhouser.
C) Shanto Iyengar and Donald Kinder.
D) James Tankard.

Question 5

In analyzing the public's priorities, McCombs and Shaw considered the opinions of voters who were:

A) undecided.
B) committed to leading candidates.
C) committed to underdog candidates.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 6

In comparison to readers of traditional print media, readers of electronic media:

A) know more stories in depth.
B) remember more content details.
C) are more shut off from the larger flows of public information.
D) rate international stories as more important.

Question 7

The need for orientation arises from:

A) framing.
B) high relevance and uncertainty.
C) the influence of spin doctors.
D) gatekeeping.

Question 8

Recently, McCombs has concluded that:

A) the media does influence the way we think.
B) framing is a dubious theoretical concept.
C) context, mood, and selectivity are not relevant to journalism.
D) the index of curiosity requires more study.

Question 9

In the digital era, agenda-setting theory does not measure up to its claims because:

A) the causal link between the media's agendas and the public's agendas has been called into question.
B) it is largely based on qualitative data as opposed to well-grounded quantifiable data.
C) the role of interest aggregations has been underrepresented.
D) modern websites and apps change the structure of gatekeeping and allow the public to set its own agenda.

Question 10

Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw found that agenda-setting takes place in three ways. At the third level, the media:

A) tell us which attributes of the dominant issues we should think about.
B) suggest practical solutions to the public to deal with their hyperlocal issues.
C) manipulate content to influence people's behavior.
D) tell us how different issues are connected to each other.

Question 11

________ are computer programs that decide which material appears in search engines, social media feeds, and elsewhere on the Internet.

A) Surge barriers
B) Algorithmic gatekeepers
C) Cryonic technicians
D) BitShares

Question 12

People with a high need for orientation tend to be resistant to the media's political priorities.

Question 13

Recent experimental studies have ruled out the possibility that public priorities are set by media priorities.

Question 14

In order for the agenda-setting function hypothesis to be established as a causal relationship, a lag in public priorities behind media agenda must be observed.

Question 15

Recent agenda-setting research suggests that the media not only set the agenda for what issues are important, but also make some aspects of those issues more salient than the others.

Question 16

The public's perception of professional basketball has been affected by the television network's agenda.

Question 17

In their initial research, McCombs and Shaw only found that there was a correlation between the media and the public agendas.

Question 18

Although some reporters frame a story by the personal attributes of public figures they select to describe, others are more objective.

Question 19

Theodore White, who wrote the definitive account of four U.S. presidential elections, concluded that the media shaped those election campaigns.

Question 20

With the rise of new media, agenda-setting no longer exists.

Question 21

________ refers to the social process by which we combine agendas from various sources to create pictures of the world that fit our experiences and preferences.

Question 22

The early mantra of agenda setting was "the media aren't very successful in telling us what to think, but ________."

Question 23

According to agenda-setting, public agenda follows ________.

Question 24

What is agenda-setting theory? What are its two levels? Provide an example. Why is this topic important to you?

Question 25

"When compared to the standards for evaluating an objective theory, agenda-setting theory fares well." Elaborate further on this statement.

Question 26

Justify why the gap identified between public agenda and media agenda necessitates an extensive research.

Question 27

How do the agendas of the mass media get set in the first place?

Question 28

Discuss the research methodology used in McCombs and Shaw's original agenda-setting research. How has the methodology been altered by subsequent researchers?

Question 29

Discuss the concept of framing. In what ways is it relevant to agenda-setting theory? What does Griffin mean when he states that "framing is not an option"?

Question 30

Ultimately, what are the (causal) relationships among the following variables: the media's agendas, what the public thinks about, how the public thinks about what it thinks about?

Question 31

Agenda-setting theory states that the media establish the importance of some issues more effectively than others. Why is this the case? Provide examples.

Question 32

In agenda-setting research, it is critical to establish how public priorities lag behind the media agenda. Why is this distinction so important? What does it mean and how would you establish the presence of a lag through empirical research?

Question 33

How might McCombs and Shaw react to Gerbner's cultivation theory?

Question 34

Imagine that Marshall McLuhan, George Gerbner, and Stuart Hall crash Maxwell McCombs' graduate seminar on agenda setting. Instantly they break into a lively discussion of the subject of the day-framing. How does it go?

Question 35

Compare McCombs and Shaw's general approach to theory building and research with Hall's.

Question 36

How might McLuhan approach agenda-setting research?

Question 37

According to Katz, uses & grats are indicative of media use. How might these differing needs also affect the media ability to mold our agendas?

Question 38

What connections can you see among agenda setting, framing, and cultivation?

Question 39

Analyze the assertion that cultivation, agenda setting, and cultural studies address different pieces of the same process. Are they all pointing to the possibility of a unified media theory? What would such a theory look like? Is it possible or even appropriate?

Question 40

What might Berger's uncertainty reduction theory say regarding agenda-setting? Does the public allow the discourse to be guided in order to reduce collective uncertainty?