Agenda setting can be described as the process in which mass media determines what the public thinks about. The Coverage of a Tsunami vs. an Earthquake in the German TV news helps me to understand the effects of agenda setting by looking at the drastic results after the media chose what to share with the public.
The media sets the agenda, the topic that’s discussed and shown to the world. By being able to choose what the public sees, the media affects the opinions of the public. More specifically, gatekeepers can either decide to cover a story or let it fade away until no one remembers its existence. My example of agenda setting compares a tsunami that hit South-East Asia in December 2004 to an equally disastrous earthquake that hit Pakistan in October 2005. The gatekeepers covered both natural disasters, but one definitely dominated the other.
The difference between the coverage of the tsunami and the earthquake was very noticeable. Because the tsunami received far more publicity in both printed media and television, the public was more aware of the disaster and donated more funds. In comparison, the earthquake received very little funds because the coverage was microscopic compared to that of the tsunami. For example, just in Germany, the tsunami received 666 reports in the three tv channels, resulting in $USD178 million, while the earthquake received 66 reports that contributed to donations of only $USD8 million.
This video is an example of how much media coverage the Asia tsunami received. It was number 6 in the 2004 Tsunami Top Ten News Stories Of The Decade. I believe these facts represent that the media is able to mentally prioritize our world through agenda setting.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr5JLBwoewk
Source: Agenda Setting Theory, http://www.agendasetting.com/res_theory.php. Web
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