How Much Do You Trust Your New Sources?

The mass media has significantly impacted the way society thinks about important topics. This method has been labeled the agenda setting theory. The agenda setting theory is the ability of the news media to influence the importance placed on topics being reported. The same information could be framed differently depending on which media channels you consume. 

Here are the examples of how the agenda-setting theory was utilized in the newscast I viewed: The topic of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus package passed by the U.S. House of Representatives was discussed. The importance of the package was framed as a humanitarian need for US citizens. The focus was on the direct payments of $1400 for each citizen. After doing some additional research online in reality the majority of the funding for the recent Covid relief bill is not directly Covid-19 relief related. Only $422 billion of the 1.9 trillion will go directly to the American people. The majority of the funds will be allocated to local government funding, transportation, infrastructure, education, etc. The funds are also to be spent from 2021 to 2031 thus are not of a true emergency nature. The issue was framed in a way that led one to believe the direct payments were the largest part of the bill, which is just not accurate.

Next was a report about the new J&J Covid-19 vaccine. The newscast described how the vaccine had been awarded FDA approval. The vaccine's single-dose nature was discussed, as was its ease of transportation, only needing to be refrigerated versus frozen like its competitors. The report was framed positively and no cons were discussed. Having researched this vaccine previously, I thought the report did not provide an accurate overview of the vaccine. It left out significant drawbacks specifically in terms of efficacy. Its competitors, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine had a startling efficacy rate in clinical trials of 94% to 95%. In contrast, the overall global efficacy of the J&J vaccine was 66% against moderate to severe illness and just 57% in South Africa, where B.1.351 is now the dominant variant. It was 85% effective against severe disease and, in trials anyway, 100% effective at preventing death. All of this should have been discussed to inform the public. 

Lastly, I watched a story on a robbery that occurred at a local fast food restaurant called Pollo Tropical. They reported that while ordering lunch a man was robbed in the drive-thru. They implied by omission that this was just a random crime, but I had read online earlier in the day that the robbers had been watching a jewelry store and targeted this customer. They had followed him and only robbed him at the drive-thru because it was the first place he had stopped. 

I thought all of the local news stories were not well covered and were framed in misleading ways. Some of this is due to the format of TV, but some of it is just shoddy reporting.

The Move to Online News Sources

The way news is consumed in today’s world is very different than in previous generations. Face-to-face conversations are down significantly compared to previous generations since smartphones became ubiquitous. So is the percentage of people who watch the news strictly on television or read print media. I still remember while growing up, my mom would always read the local newspaper every day after having breakfast. That is how she would get her news, read half the paper in the morning, and the other half after dinner. She would also watch the news on TV before going to sleep. If there was anything in the news that outraged her that day, she would call her sister to complain and they would discuss it. The news for her was consumed at a far slower pace and from very limited sources. This is still her routine now although she now watches more TV being retired and reads less.

Nowadays people like my mom are a dying breed. I get my news strictly online, I do not watch broadcast TV at all. Like most people I have my smartphone with me all the time, so breaking stories I typically get while browsing social media or from a text from a friend. Most of the time Twitter will have reports of sensational news before the mainstream media does. I am also a member of several Whatsapp groups so I get the news that way. In these groups, news reports are discussed and debated virtually. My circle friends mostly get their news online too. I don't have any friends that don't get most of their news via online websites. 

How news is gathered is also changing. Videos taken with smartphones provide a ground view of what is going on during crises like riots, or protests that a traditional mainstream video camera can’t due to its intrusive size. A large camera lets everyone know they are being recorded, but a smart is unobtrusive. I think more and more breaking news will be coming via viral videos first with the mainstream media playing catch up. 

Knowing Your Audience Is Key!

As a future media practitioner, I think it’s very vital to know who your audience is. Who do you want to reach? Target audience characteristic plays an important role in the elaboration likelihood model. We must study and know about our audiences. I would try to pick the best time to deliver the message effectively. To be able to persuade audiences, these factors are very important: make sure they are not hungry, tired from work, school, or driving. Is the audience in a good mood or bad mood, is it too late at night? All these questions need to be evaluated. These factors can influence the audience’s attention and influence how people receive your intended message. 

Another important factor to persuade the audience is to find a topic that they are interested in. How receptive do you think they will be to the topic? Having information from trustworthy sources, statistics and references will add more credibility to your message. It is vital the actual message is well thought out, written concisely with correct grammar and style that is appropriate to the target audience. These items are referred to as message characteristics. 

Including information audiences are interested in persuades them to want to learn more about the topic being presented. The information must be presented that an audience can relate to. When information is presented in a way an audience can’t relate to, the audience will lose attention and process it in what is termed a superficial way. The peripheral characteristic is a superficial learning process. When not receptive to what is being presented, an audience will focus on how attractive speakers are, or how impressive their presentation slides look instead of the message. A receptive audience will be using what is termed center characteristics to process information. This means the audience is engaged in what is being presented and receptive to the message. 

In conclusion, when the listener is highly motivated and interested in what is being presented, they are more receptive to the content of the message. Knowing your audience is key.