RTF Assignment #2

I decided I'm going to copy and paste my assignments from my film class onto this site, just so the people that are curious can keep up. There's nothing 'official' about these posts - I don't have to follow any strict guidelines or rules on how or (mostly) what to write. My discussion leader gives us a pretty vague topic, and we get to research what we'd like to talk about. So this blog is actually the second assignment, but I'm going to start with it because the first one was just an 'introduction blog' telling about yourself. In this blog we had to discuss how agenda setting and framing by the media impacts society. Again, this is all me and my thoughts. The grading policy is more of a weekly 'did-you-do' grade, not so much by the content.

Framing & Agenda Setting Shaping Public Opinion In Times Of Crisis

Media agenda setting refers to the deliberate coverage of topicsor events with the goal of influencing public opinion and publicpolicy. Because of a rise in acknowledgement of related theories such as framing and gatekeeping, the media is losing its power to directly persuade audiences to their biases as easily as in previous decades. Newspapers and magazines remain, however, profoundly influential on what subject viewers discuss. Instead of focusing on preventative measures such as symptoms and methods of treatment in cases involving HIV/AIDS, West Nile Virus, or SARS, the media tends to instill panic in the population.  Throughout the SARS scare Asian news media scarcely taken into consideration by American or British news corporations. This simple act would have provided clearer insights into what was actually happening in the SARS hot spot, as opposed to alarming thousands of Americans in California every time a flock of birds flew in from the East. American media wanted to keep the SARS threat in the news as long as possible to attract anxious viewers. Similar patterns are abundant in semi-current news trends such as mad cow disease and the West Nile virus as well as natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina or a national catastrophe such as September 11. During times of crisis, the mass media are the only means by which the massive amount of information is made available to anxious family members and friends, as well as audience members around the globe. Media framing and agenda setting shape reality, therefore affecting public opinion. The public looks to the media for answers during times of crisis, and it would seem likely that crisis news would lose some neutrality. It becomes easier and more entertaining to focus on government imperfections or to exaggerate victim stories rather than focus on balanced news. Criticism of government policy and officials seem to escalate during times of crisis, therefore shaping audience members’ views on government effectiveness. The media is assigned a powerful and influential role in shaping public views on social, economic, and government issues, especially during times of crisis. This exemplifies the influence and affect that agenda setting and framing have on shaping public opinion.