Collapse SubdiscussionJanis Mc Sweeney
Janis Mc Sweeney
The media is a large agenda setting organization. While the media may not openly tell individuals what to think on a topic, the stories that are continually given a platform- encourages the audience to consider the topic.
Since your news provider selects the topics and the slant they use while delivering the stories, viewers should clarify who is backing the station, whether the views of the station are inline with personal interests. According to Cobb (2020) media outlets are in the business to turn a profit, and the viewers should keep that in mind.
The difficulty of agenda setting for the governmental body is due to the multitude of topics the competing governmental agencies are interested in. Often it is the lobbyist’s, interest groups, or the news coverage that will push a topic to the top of the agenda.
The lobby is directed by corporations, and big bankrolls, and according to Kimball et al. (2012), this is the reason the public’s priorities are often not reflected in the policy agenda. The National Rifle Association (NRA) is an example of a powerful and organized lobby, know to set agenda in government.
The NRA will not agree that military style weapons should be banned, even in the wake of mass shootings. Lowe (2018), states Trump’s election campaign was padded with $30 million from the NRA. This type of support will move your topics up on the agenda, lobbying is a successful machine.
Another reason the NRA has been very successful is the culture they have developed. There is a movement that the NRA followers have bought into; that the second amendment is being tread on anytime restrictions are placed on weapons. The members, at least the one I am married to, seem to be brainwashed- convinced the liberals are going to come to their homes and take their weapons. Many of these people were purchasing ammunition because they believed the gun control would be done by withholding the ammunition.
That being said- yes, my husband has guns and the bullets to make them effective. So, the lobbying was effective at my house.
Cobb, W. (2020). Political Science Today. VitalSource Bookshelf. Retrieved from: https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781544358314/cfi/6/16!/4/2/12/10@0:77.0Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)
Kimball, D., Baumgartner, F., Berry, J., Hojnacki, M., Leech, B., & Summary, B. (2012). Who cares about the lobbying agenda? Int Groups Adv. 1, pp. 5-25. https://doi.org/10.1057/iga.2012.7 (Links to an external site.)
Lowe, R. (2018). NRA’s big-money politics sets agenda on gun issues. The Morning Call. Retrieved from: https://www.mcall.com/opinion/readers-react/mc-lowe-nra-politics-campaign-funding-20180227-story.html