Dialectics of Mass Media Agenda Setting Theory in an Era of Confluence

Keyword : Mass media .Agenda setting .Inter-media/convergence-agenda setting .Confluence, Extraneous factors.

Author(s) : Oludare Ebenezer Ogunyombo

Abstract :

The agenda setting theory of the mass media has transcended almost all spheres of media influence studies. Scholars agreed that the theory has served as a foundation for understanding some other theories of media influence/effect. However, the boundaries of the tenets of the agenda setting theory which initially gives ‘absolute’ power to the mass media to set an agenda on what the public thinks about is presently been pushed by some extraneous factors that hitherto were of lesser considerations. Adopting a qualitative approach and using existing literature, this paper reviews the concept of the agenda setting theory of the media vis-à-vis factors that are shaping and possibly revamping the frontiers of the age long media theory. The paper establishes that although the mass media to a large extent still set the agenda, the activities leading to the agenda they set is not totally the original idea of
the mass media as expected with their surveillance function. Individuals’ perception and background, typical media routine, economic considerations, public relations activities and lately, the activities of the social media have continuously shaped how and what the media set as the agenda for the public to discuss. It thus identifies an inter-media agenda-setting or a possible convergence-agenda setting because, at some point, a confluence exist in the ideologies of the parties leading to what the mass media eventually set as an agenda for the public. Thus, the paper makes a recommendation for studies and an expansion on the concept of media agenda setting in recognition of the contemporary developments which are modifying the assumptions of the theory.

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