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>> If you can't trust mainstream media, and a lot of Americans no longer do, then you
have these citizen journalists.
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>> All right, let's talk about agenda setting. Uh... Professor Mullins,
uh... describe for us or define what is agenda-setting? >> Well, agenda
setting
describes the news media's ability to shape as well as influence uh... the
opinions of their audience. >> Okay now, that's again... a lot of stuff we talked
about sounds pretty harmless. Now Professor Reece,
uh... agenda-setting, from a political point of view or in terms of the studing
government,
uh... news media, they exist to sell things as commercial media for the most part uh...
they tell us what soap to buy. I mean, why not set the agenda? I mean what's the issue
here?
>> Well for... I think, uh... agenda setting is very important in some context, when the media
is doing a good job. When they're doing their job,
they're helping us uh... hone in on the most important stories in Washington,
in state capitals and local governments. Uh... you know, there's
hundreds of stories coming out every day and they... we need somebody to help us
figure out which ones are important. But,
sometimes when they're are not doing a good job, they're getting us to focus on the wrong
stories. So, I think... I think that's the tension.
Now, you know, Professor Mullins, uh... just in terms of the news media using uh...
the public airwaves,
and have a public trust and responsibility to educate and inform.
But uh... you know, are you suggesting that their ability to influence audiences is
being misused in any way?
>> Well, in many ways, yes. I mean
their first concern is profits, not,
you know, public service or to inform the electorate, which is a big problem.
And because we do have this freedom of the press; right? As well as this, this idea
of capitalism within our own uh... culture there's really nothing you can
do to force them
not to have this agenda when they're
informing people via the news. >> You can force them to not have the agenda by not watching the show. I
mean, like CNN, for example, you need... you're right, they need to make money,
but they make money off of providing good information. So I I don't see the
real harm here with uh...news stations that are trying to provide good
information. >> Now we know that people are starting to use the media, new
media, especially nowadays to to go out and actively
uh... pursue certain types of information, so is that going to undermind
the ability of the, let's say, mainstream media
to, to, set the agenda when people can basically go to so many different
outlets?
>> I would say yes. You kind of see this in the Middle East, where you
you have these governments trying to clamp down on traditional media, and it
isn't working, because everyone has their cell phone video or they're blogging, or they're using
Twitter.
And it's the same thing in the United States. If you can't trust mainstream media, and a lot
of Americans no longer do,
then you have these citizen journalists and they're the ones who are actually
not
using
this new media for an agenda, they're just trying to get the word out or
information out there. >> Thank you gentlemen very much!