The Role Of Media In Policy Agenda Setting

In the 21st century, there are more interactions between mass media and policy agenda, which could be divided into three stages by function. First, multiplier effect can be found in the course of some social problems grow into policy ones,mass media making governors focus on what the public is concerned through recoding massive social problems; second, media's role of persuasive and debater can be played when rebuilding scattered opinion into policy agenda by controlling opinion in "Spiral of Silence"; third, balancer effect can help mass media propaganda, supervise the new policy and feedback to itself on the whole. However there is still deficiency in media function towards policy agenda, such as concentrated media attention, media stereotype, imbalance between information and action and media imbalancer. Therefore, mass media should actively make use of balanced strategies in communication, and the government should complete the supervising mechanism to create environment of rational information, and the public should enhance media literacy to keep a dialectical and cautious attitude.