BY: MARY GRACE F. COSTO Monday 2:30-5:30pm

SETTING THE AGENDA

Agenda setting suggests that mass media can have substantial and important impact on the cognitive level without affecting predisposition. Agenda setting theory emerges from communications studies and focuses on mass media influence on setting political agenda.

1. Media coverage can elevate the public standing of issues, people, organizations, institutions and so forth.
2. Changes in the amount of media attention can lead to changes in public priorities.
3. The more concerned people are about something, the they tend to learn about it, the stronger their opinions are of it and the more they tend to take action on it.
4. Media coverage can affect the agenda priorities of some specific and important public, such as legislators, regulators and other policy makers.

There are two concepts in agenda-setting theory useful in public relations. First is issue salience which determines the prominence and penetration of issue or how well it resonates with each public. Second is cognitive priming which describes the personal experience or connection someone has with an issue.

"Media not only tell us what to think about, but how to think about it, and consequently, what to think." - this theory from researchers McCombs and Shaw provides a promising theoretical framework in the practice of public relations.

DIFFUSING INFORMATION AND INNOVATION

Innovation or new ideas influence the adoption process. Innovation of new ideas are adopted if they are (1) advantageous than the current situation (2) compatible with previous experince (3) simple (4) easily tried and (5) observable with readily apparent outcomes.

Mass Communication facilitates social interaction and change. The media is a source of information for those who find it. The infos we get from the media becomes our topic of conversation. Mass media provides the information needed for interpersonal communication therefore, mass media diffuses infos to others.

DEFINING SOCIAL SUPPORT

It is common of any individual to think that if their opinion conflicts or disagree with the opinion of others, they tend to be silent at a certain period of time.

We ussualy hear this terminology, "silent majority" especially when an event is yet to happen like selecting of future leaders of a country. Here and there, we can hear different opinions maybe from our friends, associates and mass media. but a phenomena which is called spiral of silence really exists and these comes from large group of individuals who remain silent but their being silent give a conclusion that they are collective in their ideals. This group of individual who belong to silent majority have one common opinion and so they agree with each other. Therefore, spiral of silence or silent majority is one kind of social support.