Agenda Setting Theory

The Agenda-Setting Theory means a theory that predicts that the amount of attention given to an issue in the media affects the level of importance assigned to it by the media. I do not know if I agree or disagree with this theory. There are certainly many stories in the media that are very important that deserve attention but then again there are many stories in the media that are not important. For example, some stories that do deserve media attention are the presidential election of 2008, the war in Iraq, the gasoline crisis, and global warming. Some stories that do not a lot of attention are stories about Brittney Spears, Anna Nichole Smith, and Rosie O’Donnell versus Donald Trump. I certainly understand that there is a difference between all of them but for Anna Nichole Smith’s death to be in the media for as long as it was and it grabbing the headlines everyday for almost three weeks or more is just plain ridiculous. The media can be wrong about what is important sometimes.