Power over the Agenda

Abstract

The narratives produced by the media, especially those constructed around one or more images, do create a reality effect which impacts not only on the public at large, but also on policymakers. Those narratives constitute a mediated reality which interferes with the policymaking process because they affect the mental image of a given issue through which policymakers interact and on the basis of which they take decisions. As a consequence, this study distinguishes between three different effects caused by media power over the political agenda: (1) a direct cognitive and emotional effect of television news on the agenda of policymakers, which refers mostly to the private dimension of their media consumption; (2) a direct cognitive effect on policymakers perception of the issues at stake which pertains both private and public dimensions of policymakers lives; and (3) an indirect effect which refers to politicians’ concerns about the agenda setting effect on public opinion and which can be seen as relating to policymakers’ institutional roles.