agenda-setting theory
ah-JEN-dah SET-ing THEE-uh-ree
əˈdʒɛndə ˈsɛtɪŋ ˈθɪəriListen
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the theory that mass media, while not telling audiences what to think, powerfully influences what topics people think about, by determining which stories receive prominent coverage and which are ignored; first articulated by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw through their study of the 1968 US presidential election, agenda-setting theory holds that the issues media cover most heavily come to be perceived by the public as the most important; the theory has been extended to include attribute agenda-setting, in which media also shape which aspects of an issue the public considers most salient
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