Prepared by: Noel C. Maningas

A. SETTING THE AGENDA

Salience transfer is the ability of the mass media to transfer issues of importance from their mass media agendas to public agendas. The agenda-setting theory explains the correlation between the rate at which media cover a story and the extent that people think that this story is important. It suggests that mass media can have substantial and important impact on the cognitive level without affecting predisposition; it also contributes to the conceptual foundation for public relations mass communication.

Media Agenda Setting Consequences:
1. Media coverage can elevate the public standing of issues, people, organizations, institutions, etc.
2. Changes in the amount of media attention can lead to changes in public priorities.
3. The more concerned people are about something, the more they tend to learn about it, and the more they tend to take action on it.
4. Media coverage can affect the agenda priorities of some specific and important publics (legislators, regulators, and other policy makers).



B. DIFFUSING INFORMATION AND INNOVATIONS

Diffusion is the “process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over a period of time among the members of a social system”. An innovation is “an idea, practice, or object that is perceived to be new by an individual or other unit of adoption”. “Communication is a process in which participants create and share information with one another to reach a mutual understanding”.

Characteristics of innovation and adopters:
1. more advantageous than the current situation
2. compatible with previous experience and other aspects of the situation
3. simple
4. easily tried
5. observable with readily apparent outcomes




C. DEFINING SOCIAL SUPPORT

An important aspect of support is that a message or communicative experience does not constitute support unless the receiver views it as such. Spiral of silence theory suggests a phenomenon referred to as “the silent majority” – individuals who think their opinion conflicts with the opinions of most other people tend to remain silent on an issue. Media coverage can reflect, enforce, or challenge the spiral of silence effect on public opinion.



This sociocultural model of communication effects suggests that "messages presented via the mass media may provide the appearance of consensus regarding orientation and action with respect to a given object or goal of persuasion."