Proceedings of the 4th World Conference on Media and Communication
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Impact Of Agenda-Setting Theory On The Formation Of International News Policies
Wael Nel
ABSTRACT:
Since Maxwell McCombs and Donald Lewis’s development of agenda-setting theory in 1986, the translation of its premises into different avenues of media discourse has flourished. This theory offers valuable insight into the elements of determining journalistic aspects and stories, sifting through what is presented to the public, choosing what to focus on, and forming public opinion according to the ideologies of the media. Agenda-setting theory has been influential in shaping the policies of international multilingual media outlets. It has achieved this by controlling the flow of selected news and targeting the framing of news according to the unique audiences of each society. The theory encourages media outlets to classify news according to geographic or language factors, especially regarding hard news issues. With agenda setting, the international media frames issues for audiences, functioning as a gatekeeper by increasing or decreasing the flow of specific news content to influence the public perception of topics according to their importance within the media outlets’ editorial policies—ultimately determining whether to frame an issue positively or negatively. This presentation discusses how agenda-setting theory influences the politics of global news flow and how it relates to political, cultural, and economic dimensions. It presents the frameworks, results, and scientific discussions of researchers who have studied this aspect, and it addresses the variables and factors influencing global news policy in light of the rapidly expanding and globally influential open digital news horizon. The presentation also discusses the connection between agenda setting and news values, which constitute the editorial principles upon which newspapers prioritize news stories.
keywords: agenda-setting – international news – news policies