Page 12 - Media Effects Advances in Theory and Research

Chapter 1

News Influence on Our

Pictures of the World

MAXWELL McCOMBS
University of Texas at Austin

AMY REYNOLDS
Indiana University at Bloomington

Millions of Americans spent weeks using the media to keep track of the
unique events surrounding the 2000 presidential contest between George
W. Bush and Al Gore. Not only did they watch and read to find out the lat-
est events and changes surrounding the vote count and the ensuing legal
battles after Election Day, they also looked to the media for some direction
on what issues to think about prior to election day. Through their day-to-
day selection and display of the news, journalists, editors, and news direc-
tors focused our attention and influenced our perceptions of what were
the most important issues in this contentious election. This ability to influ-
ence the salience of topics on the public agenda has come to be called the
agenda-setting role of the news media.
Establishing this salience among the public so that an issue becomes
the focus of public attention, thought, and perhaps even action is the ini-
tial stage in the formation of public opinion. Although many issues com-
pete for public attention, only a few are successful in reaching the public
agenda. The news media exert significant influence on our perceptions of
what are the most salient issues of the day. Bernard Cohen says it best
with his observation that the news media may not be successful in telling
people what to think, but they are stunningly successful in telling them
what to think about (Cohen, 1963). The news media can set the agenda for
public thought and discussion.
Because so many people use the media to help them sort through
important political issues before they vote, scholars have spent nearly
60 years studying the effect of mass communication on voters. In a bench-
mark study during the 1940 U.S. presidential election, Paul Lazarsfeld
and his colleagues at Columbia University collaborated with pollster

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