Internet Age Agenda Setting Theory

Over the past 40 plus years since 1960s or 1970s when the Agenda-Setting Theory was brought forth, The researchers of Agenda-Setting Theory were in line with the mode that mass media set agenda for the public and have influence on the public agenda, had a wide and deep research on this theory, which has verified the effect of the theory exactly. On the other hand, with the rapid development of the form of media, especially the boom of the internet, short message of mobile phone and other new media. Great change has taken place on the environment of media. The internet is a kind of media of "being weakly controlled" , a part of right to spread has been transferred to mass users of the internet. Diversified spreader, open spreading channel, complicated spreading form and other have made internet agenda-setting with new changes different from the traditional agenda-setting. Today' s society is developing with complicate media ecological environment and people can have an increasingly media choice, traditional media can' t has influence on agenda-setting like the years of 1968, the theory of traditional agenda-setting is gradually adjusted and develops under the influence of internet. This article is based on the new and booming internet media, focuses on the theory of agenda-setting, and the following contents are discussed: the environmental changes before and after the theory of agenda-setting was brought forth, individual case analysis of the internet agenda-setting, the influence of adjustment and development on the agenda-setting from the internet, and the outstanding problems of internet agenda-setting.