What changes have taken place in the theory and practice of agenda setting in the new media environment?

Classical news communication theory has played a positive role in guiding the development of human communication. In the new communication environment, the theory of news communication has been challenged. The popularity of online media has caused the fission of communication environment. Some theories suitable for traditional media are still applicable in the network age, but many theories can no longer adapt to the new environment and have undergone new changes. Agenda-setting theory is a classic theory of communication effect research. This paper discusses the changes of agenda setting theory in the new media environment.

A summary of agenda setting theory

The basic idea of agenda-setting theory originally came from American journalist walter lippmann. As early as the 1920s, Lippmann put forward that the mass media's reporting activity was an activity to create a "mimetic environment". "Mimic environment" refers to the world view that exists in our minds. Compared with reality, this view is always incomplete and usually inaccurate. ① This "mimicry environment" is formed by media setting. He believes that our behavior is a response to this "mimicry environment", not to the real environment, and we can only see the reality reflected by the media, which has become the ideological source of the agenda-setting theory. In 1972 and 1976, American communication scholars mccombs and Donald Shaw confirmed this theoretical hypothesis through quantitative research, which marked the birth of agenda-setting theory and opened up a new horizon for the study of communication effects.

Subsequently, many communication scholars made further research on this and greatly developed this theory. Guo, a Chinese scholar, stated the agenda-setting theory in The Course of Communication: mass communication has the function of setting the agenda for the public, and the news reports and information dissemination activities of the media highlight various "topics" to varying degrees, thus affecting people's judgments on surrounding events and their importance. Nowadays, with the increasing popularity of the Internet, the era of "global village" predicted by McLuhan has arrived. The diversity of communication modes and the generalization of communication rights in the network greatly enhance the autonomy and interaction of the audience, break the foundation of agenda setting theory in traditional media and change the agenda setting theory in new communication modes.

The Reform of Agenda Setting Theory in the New Media Environment

With the development of empirical research and theoretical discussion, the related concepts of "agenda setting function" tend to be detailed and clear. What changes have taken place in the theory of agenda setting, which is a topic of widespread concern. In the new media environment, the agenda setting theory has changed or revised in the following aspects.

1. The status of the audience has changed, and the subject of topic setting has also changed.

In the traditional communication process, the audience always passively receives the news information provided by the media and cannot communicate and talk with the media on an equal footing. They can only choose and receive information from topics set by the media. In the new media era, online communication has released the initiative of the audience to participate in information dissemination. They can choose news information according to their hobbies and needs, or express their opinions. Because of its network distributed communication mode, the Internet dispels the control right of the media to a certain extent, and can realize the interaction and two-way communication between the sender and the receiver, and the public and the media become the common subjects of agenda setting.

In the new media era, the subjects of agenda setting also show some new characteristics: First, the subjects of agenda setting are diversified. Secondly, the subject status of agenda setting is equal, and different subjects of agenda setting are interactive. This is the phenomenon of "double agenda setting" in the field of news communication, that is, in addition to the "agenda setting" of traditional mainstream media, "netizen agenda setting" has appeared, which makes the original "silent majority" not only no longer silent, but also actively participate in the discussion of social issues.

2. With the emergence of public self-agenda, it is easier for personal problems to be transformed into public problems.

In the new media era, public issues are self-formed, not set. The process or way of forming public issues has also become very simple, that is, "interaction", in which it is important for the public to choose what matters or issues. The realization of the public's self-agenda setting function in the network era is a supplement and extension to the theoretical connotation of "agenda setting". If the agenda set by the public has aroused widespread concern in society, then this agenda will enter the agenda of traditional media. In network communication, if a netizen's own agenda can quickly attract the attention of a large number of netizens, it will soon attract the attention of traditional media. (4) After the traditional media pays attention, it will soon turn into a public problem. In short, personal problems are easier to turn into public problems, and netizens become the first setters of many problems. After intense discussion and interaction among netizens, reprinting and redesign by major media, they finally became a well-known hot topic.

3. The agenda setting function of traditional media has been weakened, while online media has enhanced the timeliness of agenda setting.

Internet media has changed the way netizens think and receive information, and achieved bottom-up communication, which can not only amplify the influence of some important news, but also weaken the agenda-setting function of traditional media. Some topics may be concerned by traditional media, but if online media do not pay attention, the influence of traditional media agenda setting will be weakened.

On the other hand, online media enhances the timeliness of agenda setting. According to the "first cause effect" in psychology, when people receive external information, they often believe what they see and hear for the first time. The advantages of online media, such as speed, make it possible to release news anytime and anywhere when emergencies occur. For example, after the Wenzhou bullet train accident, Weibo and others broadcast the progress of the incident synchronously from the media and set the agenda for the public at the first time. Therefore, the timeliness of news largely determines the ability of media to set public agenda.

4. The agenda setting among the media has been further developed.

Agenda setting exists not only between the media and the public, between the media and the government, but also between different media. Before the emergence of online media, traditional media has always been the setter of public issues and guided public opinion. However, due to the low threshold of the Internet and the autonomy and interactivity of information dissemination, every netizen can become an agenda setter. Once the topic set by netizens is widely concerned and discussed, the importance and significance of the topic will be greatly enhanced, and soon the traditional media will quote this online topic for in-depth discussion. On all major issues that have aroused widespread concern from all walks of life, there is a benign interaction between traditional media and online media. For example, in the 20 12 Ningbo PX incident, due to the controversy of netizens and the help of opinion leaders in Weibo, the problem spread rapidly on the Internet, and then the traditional media followed up and reported, which finally contributed to the resolution of the incident. On the other hand, some powerful media reports will also have an impact on some small media reports. For example, what news the People's Daily and CCTV focus on, the provincial and municipal media will organize relevant news reports on this basis.

conclusion

The emergence of the Internet has had a strong impact and influence on traditional media, and therefore provides a new perspective for the theoretical study of agenda setting. The emergence of new media has also changed the traditional agenda-setting theory. The agenda setting function of mass media has not ended, but it is indeed weakening. Social life has not lost its agenda setting, and various problems are still spreading among the public. As mccombs said: "It is undeniable that the Internet will bring some changes to the agenda setting effect of news media, but at present, these changes are only changes to some extent, changes in details, not changes in the nature of agenda setting." ⑤

Precautions:

(1) mccombs, Guo Zhenzhi and Xu Peixi. Agenda Setting: Mass Media and Public Opinion. Peking University Press, September 2008, p. 24.

② Liu Dejie: Analysis of "Agenda Setting" in Network Communication, News Window, No.4, 2009, p. 88.

③ Xu: An analysis of the "subject" of agenda setting in the new media era, News Window, No.6, 2009, p. 77.

④ Valley Frequency: Agenda Setting Function of Network Communication, Military Journalist,No. 1 1, 2004, p. 48.

⑤ Dong: New Changes in Agenda Setting Theory in the Internet Age, Young Journalists, 20 10, p. 37.