Communication Event Analysis: Agenda Setting Theory
Ahmad Young
Gordon State College Event Description
The Casey Anthony trial was one of the most discussed trials in history, behind the OJ Simpson murder trial. There was a continuous stream of social media posts, headline pictures, and news coverage on major television channels that were aired to the entire country. Casey Anthony developed to be the subject of every discussion amongst everyone for a long period of time. During the trial there were so many spectators outside the courthouse, so they could receive the most up to date information and they ranged from news stations, protestors and even people who insisted on her innocence. There are thousands of homicide cases
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The media gives a level of significance to the stories they run plus the amount of attention it receives, therefore, the attitude of the viewers is molded around the amount of attention certain content receives. According to Dearing and Rogers, agenda-setting theory is composed of three features. These are "the media agenda, which influences the public agenda, which in turn may influence the policy agenda." The main investigators involved in this theory are Max McCombs and Donald Shaw. The two conducted the Chapel Hill Study in 1972, which dealt with the 1968 United States presidential campaign. The main focus behind the study was a question of how the unsure voters would rank which campaign topics were key and which others were not as important. McCombs and Shaw selected precisely to study the unclear voters because they supposed that people who were unsure about the candidate they were voting for were the ones that was most vulnerable to being persuaded by the mass media’s agenda-setting …show more content…
Author Terrance Mullins says, “Why this trial? Why this murder? How many American children went missing today alone seemingly ignored by the same media that is myopically focused on Casey Anthony alone?” It is because the television’s reporting of this one trial controls the news and as a result, makes other just as significant topics unimportant. Mullins carries on that this agenda setting causes Americans to become so devoted in one trial “even though said trial holds very little value or relevance to the lives of average
Due to the massive publicity and media attention surrounding this case, the trial was known worldwide and created such controversy that an unbiased eye was difficulty to be found. Due to immediate deception, Caylee’s mother, Casey Anthony, went on trial on May 22, 2011 (Gunderman 2017) for her child’s murder. Though despite all of the powerful evidence presented against Casey Anthony in this case with “over 400 pieces of evidence, 33 days of testimony, and more
When the trial started the prosecution used the approach of Casey being a promiscuous party girl that didn't want to be a mother anymore. That pushed the fact that she was unconcerned about the fact that her daughter was missing and that she planned to murder Caylee. The defense on the other had used elaborate stories that defamed Caseys father by saying Caylee drowned in the family pool and George Anthony help cover up the accident. They also stated the George had molested Casey since she was eight, and her brother would do sexual advances towards her as well, convincing the jury that Caylee may have been a product of
This case became popular because it involved sex, lies and digital images. The testimony began in 2013 and was aired live to the public, becoming a media sensation. According to the article “Haven't been following the Jodi Arias trial? Read this” by CNN, HLN created a show that discussed the trial and people lined up to
For example, the Casey Anthony trial, George Zimmerman’s trial, and many more. These people have acted against universal norms and were made
I vividly recall my mother’s astonishment that I, as a 10 year-old, would be glued to the television set. The Casey Anthony case was aired for years, I was fascinated by how the law worked and the new facts that were discovered that threw the case to one side or another; I felt connected to this case because it was in my home state. My mom never grows tired of telling this story, and with every year passing I know she becomes more and more proud of the little girl who admired the men in blue suits on the screen and decided then she wanted to be a lawyer. I remember watching my mom gaze at me with an amazed look in her eye that I have now grown so fond of.
In July 2008, the Criminal Justice System began one the most horrified case in the United States. This case called the attention of many civilians around the nation; making it one of the most controversial cases in this time. However, Casey Anthony was the primary suspect in this case, the police have enough evidence to arrest her. After Anthony Casey arrest the trial begin until the case was resolved and a sentence is concluded. It is a process involved different government agencies.
Case Gone Wrong: Anthony vs State of Florida Case No. 5D11-2357 If ever there was a botched case it was this one with inconsistencies on the part of the State being overwhelming. I watched this trial intently and read everything available.
The discussion of polling techniques relates because poll representations categorize people as for or against something, even when some people have no opinion. This supports Fiorina’s opinion, “The simple truth is that there is no culture war in the United states…”. The discussion of political influence is relevant because everyone has different opinions about everything. The different opinions are based upon political influences the person has encountered throughout their life. The discussion of media types and power is important because media influences the opinion of the
The first theory, agenda setting through gatekeeping, is evident in the film. Agenda setting “looks on story selection as a determinant of public perceptions of issue importance” (McCombs, Shaw and Weaver, 7). The term gatekeeping is similarly used to “describe the way the media make decisions about what stories to discard or run and when and how much attention to give a story” (Laidlaw, 41). In the movie, the British media highlighted the death of Princess Diana and how the Royal Family was not showing enough grief. The British media prioritized this story, which can be seen from how the announcement of Princess Diana’s death appeared on numerous media outlets.
Today’s political arena is so tremendous that few voters can fully understand it. Policies of jobs, foreign relations and gay marriage are great factors that forge party lines and get out the vote. However, when forced to choose, voters must make sense of their vote by using very limited information and tangles of misperceptions guided by politically biased newscasts . With so many factors beyond comprehension often voters are hindered due to a limited number of sources to receive unbiased information from (Lenz, 2012) .
Additionally, the media got into the investigation by asking questions about the events before the murder. The National Enquirer, for instance, took a different angle to investigate the case; however, by doing this, the media almost made it impossible for proper investigations to be held by the criminal justice system. Ogletree Jr. maintains that the press failed terribly by trying to assume what the lawyers or witnesses thought at different times of the trial, which was a fail (Ogletree). Consequently, there should be a level of protection from the media. Public figures should not have their cases aired or followed to prevent tampering of evidence or misconceptions.
Casey Anthony Trial Casey Anthony, who is now Twenty-Eight years old, was accused of murdering her two year old daughter, Caylee Anthony around June 2008. In 2011 the mother was acquitted of the charges of murdering her daughter. While researching for information on the case, I found that the young child had been missing for nearly a month before the mother had mentioned anything about her daughter missing. Casey’s mother, Cindy Anthony, called into the police the disappearance of her granddaughter, after Casey had made up several lies about where Caylee could possibly be. In this paper it will discuss the trial thoroughly from the lies, the evidence, and the verdict with more information from the trial.
Innocent people who are incriminated under improper evidence are hanged. Parallel in the McMartin day care abuse case, the McMartin family, who administrate the establishment, and other members are accused illegally of having abused sexually numerously of the children under their vigilance. The accusations used against the McMartin
On May 25, 2010 Casey Anthony 's lawyer states to the court and jury that Caylee was unintentionally drowned in the swimming pool of their home , and that Casey and her father had cover it up. The prosecution presented that Casey Anthony did research on chloroform at her home computer but her mother Cindy Anthony 's asserted that it was her that made the searches that implicated her daughter but the records showed that Cindy Anthony was at work when these searches were done. On July 5, the jury found Casey not guilty of first degree murder but she was found guilty on four misdemeanors because she provided false material to a law enforcement officers.
According to Baran (2012) mass communication can be defined as “the process of creating shared meaning between the mass media and their audiences.” This essay aims to discuss the degree to which we are shaped by our interaction with the media. In order to achieve the aforementioned aim of this essay I will focus on the following: limited-effects theory, two-step flow theory, attitude change theory and agenda setting. The limited effects theory sets out that media influence is based on individual and social characteristics.