agenda setting - the committee of, say, the local union branch will set the agenda for the next branch meeting. The agenda shows the order in which items are to be discussed and anything not on the agenda is not discussed. In a similar way, the media are said to perform an agenda-setting rôle, both determining what is a matter for public debate and determining the order of importance of such matters. Further, the media are said to set the framework for debate on current issues.

See also:

Further details of agenda-setting

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