EFFECTS OF NEW MEDIA ON AGENDA SETING & FRAMING - Essay Example

With the help of Aljazeera, a local network, the issue was known around the world despite the great pressure placed on it by the government. What the new media does to agenda setting and framing is a concern where not only the elite are considered but includes the public because of their opinion created through the suggestions made through news reports. It is said that media forms the ideas or pictures in the minds of viewers about an issue through the absence or presence of agenda setting and framing as they serve as gatekeepers to what can be published, sifting what will be emphasized or not, what will be given importance or less discussed (Scheufele & Tewksbury, McCombs).

The choice of headlines also affect the opinions formed in the minds of readers and viewers as such matters give great impacts on what is to search further or what could be disregarded. In addition, the frequency of the news item also affects what is given importance or not in the field of media reporting, encouraging people to think a frequently published issue is important while a subject matter placed at the back of a newspaper with a very short caption says it is of less significance. Framing and agenda setting both work together hand in hand to paint the desired picture in readers or viewers, letting them decide on what has already been decided by the media.

For instance, in the case of the Egyptian revolution on January, 2011, the desire to dethrone President Hosni Mubarak from his three decade-reign might have been a predetermined objective in the breaking of the news. This got the attention of people all around the world including the president of the United States who offered his request of resignation to the strong man of Egypt. Protesters felt strengthened with the overwhelming hostility against the Egyptian president so that they resolved to fight for their freedom despite the fear brought by the administration in imprisoning key people involved in the protests (BBC News).

Although internet and phone services were greatly interrupted in the attempt to minimize if not stop the protests, help came through alternative media, pioneered by Aljazeera (Zeynalov). In Conclusion, the issues brought into a decision the situation in Egypt through what was magnified through the media picturing how new media along with alternative media affect public opinion and policy agenda which in turn gets back to dictating media agenda. The overlapping effects of these aspects affected by media finds its cause in the initial objective set through what is published.

References n.a. Egypt Protests Escalate in Cairo, Suez and Other Cities. BBC News Middle East. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12303564 McCombs, Maxwell. n.d. The Agenda-Setting Role of the Mass Media in the Shaping of Public Opinion. Retrieved from http://www.infoamerica.org/documentos_pdf/mccombs01.pdf Scheufele, Dietram A and David Tewkbury. 2007. Framing, Agenda Setting, and Priming: The Evolution of Three Media Effects Models. Journal of Communication. Retrieved from