Agenda Setting Theory

The Agenda Setting Theory is a theory I've never heard about as a theory before, however the main idea of it was discussed a lot when I was a student in the Journalism program. The theory holds that the media acts as the mediator between what is going on in the world and what we think is going on in the world. The media has the power to influence what we think about and how we think about it. The theory also explains that we tend to view something as important if the news is treating it with importance. The first example that popped in my head was the coverage on Anna Nicole Smith. Although it was tragic what happened to her, I would argue that her death did not demand the broad spectrum of coverage that it received. I would also argue that half of the people that saw it as important only did so because the news outlets put such an emphasis on it. This theory makes me wonder if our media outlets emphasized more global issues, such as what is going on with the AIDS epidemic in Africa, if our society would have different priorities.