Media as a Distraction

The part I found most interesting was this quote from page 11 of Chapter 1:

“The news media are central within American public thought, maybe not telling us what to think, but, to borrow from a popular phrase, focusing our attention on what to think about. Known as agenda-setting theory, this idea suggests that the repetition of issues in the news shapes what the public believes is most important. The abundance of news stories similar to the ones listed above directs us to think about entertainment as public enemy number one for kids in particular.”

This quote seemed very relevant to me. Media takes secondary issues and, essentially, manipulates the public into thinking that is what we should be focusing on. I feel like it’s like when a school shooting happens and the media blames video games and music. Immediately the public decides that those are the reasons this happened. After that, no one considers that anything else (like improper treatment of mental illness, gun control issues, etc) might have anything to do with it. Media did not necessarily cause the issues that they report on, but they distract from the issues that the public should be focusing on instead.