If a story cant be told in a 15 second sound bite its

If a story can’t be told in a 15 -second
sound-bite , it’s likely to be left
outside the gate.
The Role of Media Scandal, Corruption, Intrigue!
The Media as a Gatekeeper

“B” IS FOR BIAS
Biased means favoring one
view over another.
As a human being, it is
impossible to be completely
unbiased, even if you try.
• Surprise — the media is
made up of human
beings! Therefore, even
when media outlets try
to be unbiased, they’re
not always successful.
Bias may cause the media
to open the gate to some
stories instead of others, or
report stories that are
weighted towards one side
of an issue.
Can be biased by:
• Ownership of the media
• Ability to “sell” a story
(or advertising)
• Journalist’s personal
bias
The most common bias
among media sources is
being too politically liberal
(leaning towards
Democrats), or
conservative (leaning
towards Republicans).
The Role of Media Scandal, Corruption, Intrigue!
The Media as a Gatekeeper

AGENDA SETTER
AGENDA SETTING
Functions of the Media
Agenda Setting : “the power of the media
to decide which issues are covered and to
define the way in which they are covered,
their order of importance, and so on”
Issue Framing in a political
context means presenting an
issue in a way that will likely
get the most agreement from
others
The media influence the
criteria by which the public
evaluates political leaders
Some stories can be made
more important , or less
important, depending on the
coverage
From a political sense,
language is often used as a
way to gain compliance on
contentious points
Dean’s Scream made good
television
• The media shows stories
that people will watch
• People like to see
politicians act like fools
• The media took advantage
because it would increase
ratings and thereby
increase advertising
revenue
ISSUE FRAMING
Because of its role as a
gatekeeper, the media is
largely responsible for
deciding what issues society
discusses in the public
sphere.
Meaning, the media also
determines which issues are
on the public agenda, which
is the “to - do list” of issues the
public agrees are a priority.
An issue won’t get on the
public agenda unless it is
being discussed in the public
sphere, and it won’t be
discussed in the public
sphere if nobody has heard
about it.

The Role of Media:
Media as an Agenda Setter
People try to influence the government’s policy agenda when they confront government officials with problems they
expect them to solve.
P
OLICY
A
GENDA
• The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time
• Interest groups, political parties, politicians public relations (PR) firms and bureaucratic agencies are all pushing for
their priorities to take precedence over others
P
OLICY
E
NTREPRENEURS
• Political activists are people who invest their political capital in an issue, and depend heavily on the media to get
their ideas placed high on the government agenda
• Use media to raise awareness of an issue

The Role of Media:
Media as an Agenda Setter