Agenda Setting

The hypodermic needle model

The hypodermic needle model shows the mass media 'injecting' direct influence into the audience.  I do agree that the media has a huge impact on public opinion. An example is what happened following the 9/11 attacks. The media gave a huge coverage of the event and portrayed Osama as being guilty for the attacks as they were told by the authorities. Many people were furious and supported the war on terrorism. The same happened with the war on Iraq. Imagine if the media had received inaccurate information, the public would have supported the wrong cause. 

The flawless faces we see on television, celebrities with perfect figures and shows that encourage plastic surgery influence us in a lot of ways. Many people are influenced to buy the products that their favourite celebrities advertise for, in the hopes that they'd get to look 'perfect' like the celebrities. The ideal images of successful people portrayed on TV are usually slim. Over the last few years, this has caused more and more teenagers to become anorexic.

There are two assumptions when it comes to media agenda setting. First is that mass media does not merely reflect and report reality, they filter and shape it. The second assumption is that media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues. 

Media can be gatekeepers. It can help in the promotion of a message (media advocacy). Media can also choose to not represent most of the truth or reality going on in the world (agenda cutting). The media follows the crowd and trends ('bandwagon' effect). For example, following the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William, almost all the television channels, newspapers and magazines were talking about the wedding. The diffusion of news or the process through which an important event is communicated to the public is also an important part of the agenda setting in the media. An example is when Osama's death was announced by President Obama, it was done on a Sunday night. Sunday is usually considered as a slow news day so it was smart that the announcement was made on a Sunday so the news could get published in the papers the very next day. 


To conclude, I believe that the media influences us in many ways. There are positive messages conveyed by the media as well. For example, the messages on conservation of the environment and adoption of pets. We should definitely be aware of the negative effects of the media. We should learn to form our own opinions and not let the media create our opinions for us.