1. WHAT IS AGENDA-SETTING?
- How would you define agenda-setting theory?
- What is the importance of
- What evidence exists of agenda-setting in our daily lives?
2. HOW IS AGENDA-SETTING AN EXERCISE IN POWER?
- Who are the key agenda-setting players?
- How is the agenda determined by those in a position of power?
- How can citizens define their own agendas?
- Who is
- Who holds the microphone? Which voice holds authority?
- Is there evidence of struggles between different agenda-setting individuals
- How is nationalism exported as an agenda?
- What is the time difference in agenda-setting processes? How long does it take for agenda-setting to take effect?
degree of power does public
- Who defines the public agenda?
- What is
the relationship between public opinion and the agenda?
- How credible is public opinion?
does Citizen Journalism inform agendas? Does Citizen Journalism set and
inform a better agenda?
3. TO WHAT EXTENT ARE THE MAJOR NEWS MEDIA CARRYING THE SAME AGENDA?
- How does the media determine the agenda?
- Should the media give consumers what they want by carrying the same stories? Is this effective or not?
- Consider the choice of news topics/stories by media. Are their choices appropriate? What kind of news should the media be providing for its audience if not?
- How does competition between various major news media effect the news?
- What is newsworthy?
- The role of citizen journalism
- How does citizen journalism play a role in agenda-setting?
- Can citizen journalism compete with major news media and if so, how?
- What determines access?
- How is citizen journalism news distributed? Should it be filtered? How does citizen journalism news inform so-called "expert" news?
- The influence of agenda-setting
- Why do you think certain issues, topics or stories are brought to public attention?
- How do you determine the importance of an issue, topic or story?
- Who decides what to bring to public attention and with what purpose?
4. WHO GETS TO CONTROL THE AGENDAS?
- Are there limitations to the degree of which people are exposed to agenda-setting in terms of their economic status, class, etc.?
- How does basic access to media determine the control of agenda-setters?
- Whose voices are lost?
- Do you agree with the statement that the youth are more susceptible to agenda-setting framing than others? If so, how?
- Is there a significant social gap between how agenda-setting influences different generations?
- Are agenda's fixed or dynamic?
- What is the motivation behind setting agendas?
5. HOW CAN NEWS OUTLETS ADDRESS CERTAIN EXCLUDED GROUPS? WHOSE ISSUES ARE NOT ON THE AGENDA?
- Which groups are dominant and are targeted by news outlets? Why do you think news outlets choose specific groups?
- How does one identify excluded groups?
- Who gets access to
- How does media literacy play a role in the exclusion of groups?
- Would it be fair to say that new technologies are a barrier to entry for excluded groups?
6. WHAT TOPICS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN OTHERS IN AGENDA-SETTING?
- How are agendas created and framed?
- How does the press accept and reinforce framing?
- Consider soft news topics vs hard news topics. Which are more important? Which one is better suited for public interest?
- How do major new media treat topics?
7. HOW DO SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECT AGENDA-SETTING? HOW DOES AGE DEMOGRAPHICS INFLUENCE SOCIAL MEDIA?
- Is the youth favoured by social media agenda setting?
- Who holds the real power to set agendas? The youth or the owners of the outlet that the youth are using?
- Can the youth change the way that media builds the agenda?
- Can social media change the way news infiltrates through different mediums? If so, how?